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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181528">Black Noir?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozambique_and_a_dream/pseuds/Mozambique_and_a_dream'>Mozambique_and_a_dream</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Boys (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:47:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181528</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozambique_and_a_dream/pseuds/Mozambique_and_a_dream</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley lives alone out on the streets of New York, struggling to stay alive as even those sworn to protect the city seem to have their own agendas. Though they are super-abled themselves, every day they stay alive is a win in their books. And just when they think they have it figured out, a supe appears in their life and things get a little weird again. What supe? Why Black Noir of course.</p><p>The title is a work in progress...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A couple of things before you dive in<br/>1. Yes, my OC is a direct rip off of Spider-Man<br/>2. Yes, I am aware of what Black Noir gets up to in the comics<br/>3. I don't give a single fuck. My canon now.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After living on my own, out in the streets, there were two things I knew to be true.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Number one: The dumpsters behind the Olive Garden were always guaranteed to have breadsticks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Number two: Never, ever, trust a supe. They are to be avoided at all costs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now, given the dumpsters behind the Olive Garden also usually contain some other types of food, but my third rule is never to eat noodles or shrimp that have touched other garbage, and sometimes the breadsticks are a little mouldy. But the supe thing? After seeing America's favourite Homelander himself burn down the tent city, you were living in with his laser eyes, killing every homeless person squatting there? And the rest of the Seven showing up to help cover his tracks? All the movies suddenly seem like long-forgotten dreams.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I looked back down at the breadstick in my hands, no longer feeling hungry. With a sigh, I tossed it back into the dumpster, or rather the lid of it with a little too much force, causing the dumpster to slam shut. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey!" a voice called out from around the corner to the building. I cursed under my breath; I forgot how much the manager hated dumpster divers. I took off into a run. "Hey, kid!" The sound of his footsteps was echoing behind me. I spun the corner of the alley… right into a dead-end. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Shit!" I repeated, looking around me. I glanced down at my hands, "Well…" I cracked my knuckles and placed one on the wall of the building beside me, trying to focus. I took a deep breath and grinned as I felt my hand stick to the brick. I latched my feet onto the wall and quickly scrambled up the side, shooting a web out of the spinneret on the bottom of my wrist. It stuck to the roof's ledge and allowed me to quickly get over the side and out of sight from the man chasing me.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"I got you-" the man had started to say upon turning the corner to the dead end. "Huh?" I couldn't help but grin at his confusion. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I remained crouched on the roof for a few moments, waiting until I could sense that he was gone. As the man muttered a slur under his breath as he walked, I rubbed my wrist with a sigh. It always hurt after using it, especially since I was out of practice. The scarring from where they had tried to remove the spinnerets with-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't go there," I whispered under my breath. I closed my eyes and grimaced through the pain of them retreating back under my wrist. You would've thought that all parents would be thrilled to have a super-abled child. Not… Not do what they did.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I sighed again as I climbed back down off the building I had been hiding on. The sun was going to set soon, and God knew just how unsafe these streets got at night. Even with the so-called protectors of the Earth having their tower placed in the middle of the fucking city.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Keeping my head down, I quickly walked back towards where I had been staying. There was an old construction site. Some six-story office building was supposed to go there, but halfway through building, the company lost its funding, leaving its shell abandoned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The building was a fairly popular spot for other squatters like myself. However, I was the only one with the ability to get myself up to the sixth floor. Of all the places I had stayed since I ran away, this one seemed to be the safest. I mean, sure, it only had two walls covering me, but most nights, the wind tended to favour them, so it wasn't that bad. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All I had to do was keep my head down. If I stayed out of trouble until I turned eighteen, I would avoid getting sent back home. Once I was eighteen, I could legally get a job, get my own place, and, most importantly, never have to fear what would be waiting for me back at my parents… </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I had thought that I would've been able to tough it out in that house till I was an adult, but it seemed the older I got, the more I grew into my powers, the angrier and harsher they would get. It also didn't help that I also realized I was non-binary. Needless to say, they did not take it well. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, I could be on my own for two years. I was smart enough to make it by, and my powers had already gotten me out of one supe lasering a bunch of homeless people catastrophe; I figured I could make it a little longer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sounds of sirens interrupted my thinking. I looked up from the sidewalk to see a handful of police cars barreling their way down the street over. The feeling in my gut told me that they were headed towards people who were in danger. And my gut was never wrong.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For a brief moment, I pondered the idea of getting myself over there. I knew I could use the webs to propel myself to travel fast. But, just as I was about to get moving, there was suddenly a figure in front of me.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey, kid!" A-Train. "Which way did they go?" he yelled. I very carefully held a finger up, pointing in the direction of the cop cars. I didn't even get the chance to say anything before he took off again, the force of him running at that speed and knocking me off of my feet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Asshole," I muttered, standing up. I brushed some of the dust off of my pants with a sigh. It was going to be one of those nights. It seemed almost scheduled when Vaught would let some of them out to go stop crime, or whatever. I knew it wouldn't be long before I saw another one of them trying to keep up with A-Train. The last thing I needed was me trying to sputter more directions to someone who could torch me in half a second. Like he did that night at the camp…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of more sirens began to echo through the air, this time fire and ambulance, so I decided to pick up the pace. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I really needed to get out of here.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next few days went on fairly uneventfully. As predicted, the night after I saw A-Train, the news was filled with how the Seven saved the entire city once again. Lucky us. Then, after making their appearance, they undoubtedly slunk back to that fancy tower of theirs where they forget that crime is a daily occurrence. Typical. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, being able to put away the constant worrying that I would somehow run into them made the days go by easier. I never wanted to be caught in a situation involving them. I knew what could happen to someone like me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today I had spent near Times Square. It was a weekend, which meant a lot more tourists would be out and about. It also meant more opportunity for me to try and get some spare change. Luckily, since I had cut my hair, I looked a lot younger than I really was, and more people felt immense pity for me. These days I usually did pretty well. At least until a greedy businessman walks by and decides to call the cops on the “loitering young boy,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bastard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was how I ended up back at the soup kitchen. I didn’t like to go into them that often; I didn’t need anyone calling social services on me either, but I hadn’t eaten since the day before, and the food there isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here you go, Miss!” a cheerful woman explained while handing me my plate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” I started, wanting to correct her. I looked down at my food and sighed. “Thank you.” The woman flashed me a grin and looked over to the next person in line while I shuffled myself over to a table to sit down. Thankfully, it was still early, and the tables weren’t nearly as full as they could get. I sat myself down and began to eat, trying to ignore the rest of the world around me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I quickly finished my food and went to bring my tray back, handing it to the same lady who had given it to me, muttering another thank you. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Are you here by yourself?” she asked, grabbing the tray. My eyes went wide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” I scratched the back of my head. This made the woman frown, and in her eyes, I could see a look of pity. A look I was quite used to by now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I hear Homelander is making a donation to some of our food banks!” Now I squinted, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’ll make it all better.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Won’t it?!” she exclaimed, my sarcasm flying right over her head. “Well, you stay safe out there!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure Homelander and the rest of the gang will be looking out for me,” I deadpanned. Again, she simply grinned. I mumbled another thanks to her for her time and took my cue to leave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun had now set over the city. I was eager to get back to my place and lie down. Time always passes faster when you’re sleeping.  However, I was only a few blocks away when I felt my senses tingling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no,” I said to myself. Whatever this spider gut feeling crap was, they always made it clear when someone needed help. It was also clear that no member of a supe organization would be coming to help stop whatever was going on. I ran a hand through my hair, thinking about what to do. I couldn’t let something bad happen, could I? If I got caught... “Oh, fuck it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I followed my senses towards the danger and wound up outside a rundown AV store. Through the giant glass windows, I could see that there were four men with masks inside, each armed. One of them had a gun pointed directly in the face of the only person that appeared to be working there. He looked like he was going to shit himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Casually, I strolled through the front door, causing the bell above it to jingle. Naturally, all heads, and guns, turned towards me. I grinned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, uh, I’m looking for a new VHS player,” I started, leaning up against the counter. “Do you guys still make those?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck?!” one of the robbers exclaimed. “Get the fuck out of here, kid.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, no? That’s a shame. Born in the wrong generation, am I right?” I looked to the guy behind the counter, who now looked even more worried than he did before, and offered him a wink. This did not seem to ease his anxiety. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Last chance, kid! You don’t want to be part of this!” As he talked, the robber had moved his gun so that it was now inches from my face. I shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would duck if I were you,” I said, looking at the worker behind the counter. His eyes went wide, but he seemed to get the message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In one quick movement, I brought my left hand forward, shooting a web out of it. This latched directly onto his hand. I then pulled towards myself, sending the man face-first into the glass counter, knocking him out instantly. While I was doing that, I shot a web out of my other wrist and latched it onto the next robbers’ feet, dragging him down to the ground as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As this happened, the remaining two began to fire their weapons. Luckily, fast reflexes seemed to come with my spider powers, and I was able to move myself in a path that avoided the bullets. I lept over to the side, taking cover behind one of the shelves. The shelves seemed sturdy, so I used them as a stepping stone to get my hand to the roof, where I crawled across. The robbers under me somehow didn’t see me do that and still had their guns aimed towards the shelves. I used this to my advantage and jumped down directly on top of one of them. As I did, I made sure to web his hand, the one holding the gun, to the ground, along with one of his feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fourth robber seemed confused by this. He attempted to spin around to see what had happened, but I beat him to the punch, or rather, kick, and I planted my foot behind his knees. As he fell, I took a few more webs and pinned him down to the ground as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See, that wasn’t so bad!” I exclaimed, having the assumption that all of the robbers were down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look out!” the worker called. I spun my head to see that the man I had merely dragged down to the ground was back up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shit-” was all I managed to get out before I felt a bullet pierce my side. Thankfully, I was still on my adrenaline high, and I was able to keep my focus and take down the man who shot me with a graceful punch to the face. I triple checked to make sure that all of the robbers were down, for real this time, before looking down at my side where the bullet had hit. Blood was oozing out of the wound, and the pain, well, it felt like I had been shot, to say the least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit,” the man behind the counter muttered, placing his hands on top of his frizzy hair. I spun myself around to tell him that I was fine, just a minor gunshot wound, and no, I didn’t need a hospital when I realized he wasn’t holy shitting me and my fantastic rescue. “Black Noir!” Now it was my turn to utter curse words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Standing at the door to the now bullet-ridden AV store was none other than the infamous member of The Seven, Black Noir himself. I felt myself gulp, unsure of what to do; this was exactly the type of situation I wanted to avoid. Black Noir began to step closer to me, and I instinctively took a step back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah,” I put a hand in front of me, the one not clutching my gunshot wound, to motion for him to stop. “I-I’m sorry.” I managed to spit out. I looked around the store and spotted the back exit. If I could just make it there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll call an ambulance for you,” the person behind the counter said, still looking as anxious as when there was a gun in his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” I practically yelled. “No. No, I’m fine. I can’t…” I looked back at Black Noir, uneasiness building in my chest. “I, uh, I didn’t know you would- I’m sorry, I’ll just-” I cut myself off as I heard the sounds of sirens approaching. “I’ll just, you- you can take the credit for this dude, j-just pretend I wasn’t here, I- sorry,” I sputtered, the words getting harder to come out the more blood I lost. I saw Black Noir start to put a hand out to me, but a second later, the first of the police cars could be seen heading towards the store. He spun his head around to look, and I took that as my opportunity to bolt out the backdoor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I just needed to get back to my place. I could loosely patch this up by myself, and then my faster healing would kick in and… is there blood in my mouth? Oh, fuck me. I was walking through back alleys. If someone else saw me like this, God knows what they would do. The last thing I needed was a hospital IDing me and calling my parents - oh fuck I couldn’t go back there! I’d sooner let myself bleed out from this! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was getting harder to walk, each step and each breath sending more pain throughout my body, the dizziness getting more and more… I realized I wasn’t going to make it back to my place. I also realized today had not been a good day to wear a binder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck…” I muttered, finally letting myself slink down to the ground, leaning up against the wall of one of the buildings. I think it was a Dominos. My eyes were getting heavy; I could tell it wouldn’t be long before I went under. Not the worst place to die… At least I helped that guy from the AV store…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, there was someone in front of me. Seeing who it was sent another wave of adrenaline through my body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh fuck,” I mumbled, trying to sit upright. Black Noir simply looked at me, then tilted his head to the side. “I-” Black Noir held a finger up to his mouth as if to tell me to shut up. I felt myself gulp again. I watched as he pulled a phone out of his pocket and dialled a number. He held the phone up in front of him — video call. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noir!” a female voice exclaimed. “Did you find that kid?” Black Noir nodded. “Alive?” she asked. Black Noir shook his head no. At that moment, I could feel the blood drain from my face. “Probably for the best,” the lady went on. “That would’ve been a PR disaster. You good to deal with the body?” Again, Black Noir nodded. He slid his phone back in his pocket and looked back at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, Woah!” I exclaimed, putting a hand up in surrender. “L-look, you don’t need to-” I tried to get myself away from him, to escape, but I had trapped myself. I could feel my entire body shaking. Bleeding out alone would’ve been a much better way to go. “P-please, I won’t, I won’t tell anyone-” Black Noir reached into one of his back pockets. “Oh god,” I mumbled, closing my eyes, not wanting to see whatever device he was going to use to kill- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A-A first-aid kit?” I sputtered, looking at the red cross on the small bag he had just pulled out. Black Noir simply nodded and unzipped it. “Wha-” I tried to say. Black Noir looked between me and the first-aid kit, then to me again. Almost as if he was asking for permission. I felt myself sigh. “O-okay,” I nodded. “Okay, yeah.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He crouched down beside me and gently lifted up the bottom of my shirt to look at the wound, causing me to wince. His gloves were cold on my skin as he examined the damage before looking back into his first-aid kit, where he pulled out a tiny pair of tweezers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh god, it’s still in there, isn’t it?” I asked, my lower jaw now trembling. Black Noir nodded. I leant my head back against the wall. “Fuuuuck.” Black Noir remained silent as he dug around in the first-aid kit for more supplies until he finally pulled out a small needle and a vial of… something. “W-what is that?” I asked, watching him fill the syringe. He simply pointed to my wound. “Wha- some kind of pain, something? Hopefully…?” Black Noir nodded again. I nodded with him. “Okay, c-cool. Yeah. That sounds nice.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir took his cue and pressed the needle into my skin, just above where I had been shot. I waited for a second for the medicine to kick in, hoping it would take away all of the pain. However, the only thing I noticed it doing was making me sleepier to the point I could barely keep my eyes open. He had drugged me! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you son of a b-” was all I managed to say before the world went completely black.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I was comfy. Like, really comfy. And it was quiet. Quiet and comfy. It was perfect. For a brief moment, I kept my eyes shut, happy to enjoy the feeling of my own bed, the warmth from my blankets, and -- wait. My eyes sprung open as I remembered what had happened the night before. The robbery, the gunshot wound, Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Quickly, I jumped up onto my feet, ignoring the pain it brought my side and looked around at my surroundings, a sense of panic building in my chest. I was in a living room, that was obvious; I had been lying on a couch and sitting on the opposite end, hands resting on his lap…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where the Hell am I?!” I exclaimed. Black Noir didn’t move; he simply just looked at me, watching as I spun myself in a circle, trying to figure out where he possibly could have taken me. “Oh fuck, this isn’t Vought Tower, is it?” I yelled, looking back at Black Noir, my eyes wide. He simply turned his head to the side, gazing towards a window. I ran up to it and looked out. Definitely not the tower, but then where… “Is this?” I scratched my head. “Do you live here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think they let you guys do that…” I muttered, now rubbing the back of my neck. “Wait a minute,” I looked down at myself, coming to another realization. “Y-you changed me?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blank stare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck, dude?! Oh god, y-you didn’t…” I trailed off, the sick feeling returning to my stomach once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I need you to swear.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He simply raised his hand and placed it on his chest, above his heart. Now I nodded, still trying to process what was going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus…” I mumbled. Suddenly, a sharp pain rippled through my side and made me dizzy. I put a hand back on the couch to steady myself then slightly lifted up the shirt I was wearing. Red was soaking through the bandages. “Fuck…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir seemed to have seen this as well and stood up from where he had been sitting. He made a small motion for me to sit back down on his couch. I found myself biting my lip, wanting to say something, but I had no idea how to go about dealing with this situation. Noir just stared at me until I sat myself down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked over to the kitchen in the apartment and came back with another first-aid kit before pulling up a chair beside the couch. Neither of us spoke as he began to peel back the bandages. I winced as I looked down at it, at the stitches I had ripped while jumping up off of the couch in my panic. Black Noir didn’t hesitate to reach into the kit to pull out some more bandages and a needle with some thread. I closed my eyes, feeling nauseated at the fact that there was a giant hole in the side of me. I remained biting my lower lip, trying to stop myself from crying out in pain. Black Noir didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did, he didn’t care. The silence was making me very uncomfortable, so I finally decided to speak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-thank you,” I stuttered. Black Noir briefly looked up at me. “For… For helping me.” He nodded, just slightly, then looked back down at the stitches, continuing to work. “I didn’t think that any of you actually cared,” I went on before realizing how that might have sounded. “N-not that supes are bad or anything! I just, I’ve been on the streets long enough to have seen, and I mean, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>think you were going to kill me and hide my body in some gruesome way, but, uh, I’m just rambling now… I’m sorry… I ramble when I’m uncomfortable,” Did I really just say that? “N-not that I’m uncomfortable you’re, you’re great! I just-” At this point, I noticed that Black Noir was simply just staring at me. “S-sorry,” I mumbled, feeling my face heating up with embarrassment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He remained looking at me for another few moments, and I realized I had been forgetting something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m, uh, I’m Riley, by the way.” I did my best to reach a hand out towards him. Again, he stared at my hand for a second, then looked back down at the needle in his hand and went back to stitching. “Right…” I muttered under my breath. “I, uh,” I decided to go on, “I go by they and them pronouns,” I admitted. “If you know what that means….” I rubbed the back of my neck again, “Or, are okay with that… I just thought- I mean, I have to assume you had to cut me out of my binder and all because of how tight it was, and that might’ve been confusing or something, but I’m actually non-binary! I hope that’s not an issue…” I really needed to shut my mouth sooner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Noir paused his stitching again, although it did look like he was almost done. He looked up at me and tilted his head slightly as if thinking about what I had just said. I got a nervous feeling again in my chest that I may have overshared. Of course, the supes wouldn’t like trans people. I mean, I knew what shit they talked about at those Believe Expos! Maybe he really was going to-- I looked back at Black Noir, who had a fist held out to me. I blinked a few times, processing until I realized he was trying to give me a fist bump. I couldn’t help but laugh as I gently tapped my fist to his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does that mean we’re good?” I asked. Noir nodded again and finished putting new bandages on my wound. I offered him a small smile. Still silent, Black Noir stood up from his chair and went back into the kitchen. I looked back down at the bandages, still surprised that he hadn’t killed me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A minute later, he wandered back into the living room, now with a glass of water and a small bowl, which he handed to me, then sat down on the other side of the couch. I took the glass and quickly downed it, not realizing how thirsty I had been.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Thank you,” I said again, putting the glass down. “I really do appreciate the help. And that you didn’t take me to Vought. Or a hospital….” I looked down at the bowl he had given me and saw that it definitely was leftover mac and cheese, as it was still cold from being in the fridge. I picked at it with my fork. “I, uh, probably owe you an explanation for that, hey?” I popped a bite of the macaroni into my mouth and looked at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded once. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, uh,” I started, food still in my mouth. I quickly swallowed. “I had to, uh, run away from home? I guess.” I looked back down at my mac and cheese. “My parents, they aren’t the nicest. They would, uh, h-hurt me.” I glanced back up to Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made a motion towards the inside of his wrist, head tilted. Of course, he had seen the scars from where they had tried to... I nodded a few times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they aren’t really that happy that I’m a supe…” My mind trailed back to all of the names they had hurled at me. “Wanted to, uh, make me ‘normal.’” I did some air quotes then looked back down at my food. “And then once I realized the whole gender thing… I tried to keep a secret, I knew they wouldn’t take it well, but somehow they found out. And then that just made it all so much worse.” I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to avoid crying in front of the deadliest person on the planet. “So, I left. A-and if I were to go to a hospital or anything, they would just ID me and send me back to them. It happened a few months ago, I tried to tell them, but they didn’t care. No one cares.” I finished with a sigh, wiping some of the tears that had managed to fall. I looked back at Black Noir, and my eyes went wide again. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to just… dump that all on you or anything-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without warning, Black Noir stood up again. He took a few steps closer towards me and then gently put a hand on my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” I started, looking up at him, understanding what the gesture meant. “Thank you,” I whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir remained like that for a few more seconds, silence between the two of us, before he grabbed my now empty glass and carried it back to the kitchen. I took the time to assess myself and the situation I was in. There was a part of me that was very curious, that wanted to stay and learn more about the supe that had saved my life. It was an opportunity that I don’t think anyone had ever had before. But, my more practical side was telling me I needed to go. It was only a matter of time before he changed his mind about helping me, or called Vaught, or </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I couldn’t let myself fall into the illusion that the members of The Seven were good people. There had to be something he wanted in return for helping me. And I wasn’t about to stick around to find out what.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as I made the decision to bolt Black Noir wandered back to the living room, now with a mug of what I assumed to be of tea in his hands. He looked to me and to the window I had been slowly trying to open. I grinned sheepishly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, uh, I don’t want to be a burden,” I decided to say. “Like I said, I really do appreciate your help and everything. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome, I’m sure you are a very busy guy and all…” I trailed off, almost as if I was waiting for Black Noir to say something. All he did was look down at the tea in his hands. “Right,” I went on. “Well, thank you, I guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And before I had the urge to say any more embarrassing stuff, I opened the window the rest of the way and hopped out, clinging to the wall to climb down from the third floor. Once I was at the bottom, I looked back up, half expecting to see Black Noir looking for me. He was not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” I mumbled to myself. “What an interesting start to the day.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After stumbling back to my hideout, the sixth floor of the abandoned construction site, I ended up plopping myself down and sleeping. I followed that up with even more sleeping. Turns out, getting shot makes you tired. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next few days went by very quickly, especially since I was sleeping most of the time. I was lucky enough to have a small stash of snacks tucked away with me, so I didn't get too hungry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today, three days after I had been shot, I was able to get myself moving again. Thanks to my fast healing and Black Noir's excellent stitching, the wound was almost all healed. I had found myself a discarded styrofoam coffee cup and took it just a few blocks away from Times Square and sat in front of a few storefronts who usually didn't mind that I was there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As winter was approaching, I was hoping that I would get enough cash that I could go to a thrift store and find myself a jacket. It was already getting cold, colder than October usually was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I ended up sitting there only for a couple of hours, forcing myself to get up before my ass froze to the concrete I was sitting on. A few people had dropped a couple of bucks in my cup, which I eagerly stuffed in my pockets. A nice enough jacket would cost a lot more than a couple of dollars, but I was still grateful. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back at my hideout, I put the cash in the now empty box of granola bars that had been my primary source of food for the last few days. I debated taking a couple of those dollars to a convenience store to buy myself some supper. Still, all of the moving that I had done already had made me exhausted. Maybe it was still a little too early for me to be moving after an injury like that. I ignored the rumbling in my stomach, I could wait until morning to eat, and leaned back against the wall, gazing out at the streets below me as the sun began to dip down behind the skyscrapers that filled my surroundings, trying to ignore the dull ache in my side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I found that I was just about to fall asleep, that tingly feeling appeared in my chest. Instinctively I jumped to my feet, hands at the ready to fight whatever my senses were telling was there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Black Noir?" I exclaimed. "How the hell did you get up here!?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir said nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right," I mumbled, lowering my fists. "Stupid question; you're you… and all." I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck. "What, uh, what can I do you for?" I asked, figuring there was no need to ask how he had found me, either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir extended his right arm, revealing a plastic bag. Cautiously, I walked up to peer inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Subway?" I looked back up to Black Noir. "I-is this for me?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, Black Noir didn't answer. Slowly, I reached out and took the bag, watching for any cues that I shouldn't. Once in my hands, I took the bag and went to sit down. I sat so that my feet were dangling off the edge as I unwrapped the sub, grinning as I smelt the still-warm chicken. As I took a bite, Black Noir came to sit beside me, dangling his feet off as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," I said to him, my mouth still full. He looked over at me and nodded. He then made a small motion to his side, approximately where my injury was. "Oh, that?" I asked, swallowing my bite. "It's good! I mean, it still hurts a little, but it healed up," I lifted up my shirt slightly to demonstrate the healed wound. "I, uh, heal somewhat fast… Part of the powers. Thanks again. For that… I wouldn't be here still if you wouldn't have helped."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded once. I took another bite of the sandwich he had brought me, this time realizing he had put olives on it and did a double-take, nearly spitting out my bite. I quickly put a hand to my mouth and swallowed, hoping Black Noir didn't notice. Naturally, he did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked back over to me and then to the sub. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I, uh," I paused, looking into my sandwich to pull out the next olive I saw sitting near the top, placing it on the wrapping. "It's fine, though! I still really appreciate--" Black Noir stood up and grabbed the sub from my hands, wrapping it back up. "I-" I started, looking at my now empty hand. "I didn't mean-" I turned around to look at Black Noir, but he was already gone, back whatever way he had managed to get up here. I sighed, "Way to go, Riley." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I lay onto my back, leaving my feet dangling over the side and put my hands to my face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Stupid, stupid, Riley," I muttered. I decided to keep lying like that. It was comfy. That, and when I had jumped up when Black Noir first got there, it really hurt my side. I sighed again, this time closing my eyes, hoping to fall asleep. Or to just fall off this building and die. That would've been less awkward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, I remained like that, listening to the sounds of the traffic below me, using my senses to count the number of people that walked by, the cars that drove, Black Noir standing behind me, the pigeons on the ground, the- Black Noir standing behind me? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sprang up from lying down, nearly sending myself off of the building, to turn around and look at him. This time he had two bags in his hands. He placed one of them down beside me and then sat himself down again. Curiously, I opened the new bag he had brought. This one had another sub, a bottle of diet Pepsi, and a small bottle of aspirin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You didn't have to-" I started, looking back over at Black Noir. He simply shrugged, just slightly, and opened up the other bag, the one containing the sandwich I had taken two bites out of. I looked back into my bag, pulling out the new sandwich, this time with no olives. My stomach was still growling, so I eagerly took a bite. As I chewed, I pulled out the aspirin, taking out two and downing them with the Pepsi. "Thank you," I said, looking back up to Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded again, without turning his head to look at me. I noticed that he had pulled his mask up slightly, and he had started eating the sub I had rejected. I smiled softly and took another bite of my sub, turning my head to watch the traffic that Black Noir was gazing at. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, we ate in silence. Not that Noir was one for long conversations. That was pretty clear. It was slightly weird, yet somehow less weird than it was before. The thought of Black Noir calmly sitting beside me, eating a sandwich full of disgusting olives, was never something I would have imagined for myself. Yet, here we were, just hanging out. I guess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time we both finished eating, the sun was now fully set. I balled up the paper wrapping from my sub and placed it back into the plastic bag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks again, Mr, uh, Black Noir," I said again, regretting my choice of using the word Mr. "For the sub and checking in on me and stuff, I-" I cut myself off as that feeling went through my gut. I snapped my head in the direction where it was telling me. Someone was in trouble. I looked back to Black Noir, who seemed confused. "I, someone is in danger," I spat out. "D-don't ask me how I know, but something's happening, over there," I pointed towards the area the feeling was coming from.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir followed my finger, then looked back at me, and tilted his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I get this, one of the powers, like this feeling, about this, it's never wrong. It happens a lot, but usually, I can never do much because -- wait a minute! You can help! You're The Seven!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide at the realization. "Right? Y-you can help?" Black Noir looked back in the direction I had been pointing. "I can show you!" At this point, I was back on my feet, looking over the side of the building, judging where I could shoot a web that would land me safely and quickly. "C'mon!" I shouted behind me as I lept, not bothering to see if he had a response. I landed myself safely at the bottom and waited for Black Noir to catch up. I watched as he scaled the building's side and then jumped from the third floor, landing in a roll. "This way!" I said, taking off into a run. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The feeling in my gut was getting more fine-tuned as we ran; I was able to navigate the allies until we could hear the sounds of yelling. I crouched down across the street from the commotion. I could see now that the scene we had stumbled on was another robbery, only this one seemed to have escalated already. The front windows of the jewelry store were smashed, the looters inside destroying the display cases. At the same time, the employees were being held at gunpoint. I could tell from here that one of them had already been shot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked to make sure that Black Noir was still with me and nodded in his direction. I took a step out of the wall we were hiding behind, ready to go jump in and help, when I felt a hand grip my sweatshirt, yanking me back. I looked at Black Noir, bewildered. He simply pointed to me and then back to the wall. He wanted me to stay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But-" I started, wanting to protest. He held a finger up, and I sighed. "Fine, I'll stay." Black Noir nodded, pleased, and he took off towards the jewelry store. I peered around the corner and watched, slightly in awe, as he engaged the robbers in a fight. For a brief moment, I grew worried as one of them shot directly into Black Noir's chest. Then, when he punched the man in the face, did I remember what his superpowers were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fight only lasted a minute before Black Noir had taken down each of the robbers. I stepped out from around my corner, eyeing the sirens that were now on their way down the street. I saw Black Noir glance over to me, and I offered him a thumbs up. He nodded once before going to assist the person who had been shot. I guess he did that pretty often. At least this person would go to the hospital. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I ducked back around the corner as the police cars and ambulances drew nearer. I decided that I should head back to my place and sleep; my work here was done. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next morning I was awoken by the sounds of a siren, going off just once. I sprang up, looking over the edge of my building to see two cop cars pulled up to the construction site. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no,” I muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Attention,” one of the police officers spoke through a megaphone. “This property is now owned by Vaught. It is illegal to be squatting on private property.” My eyes went wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vaught?” I asked myself. “How do they even know about this-” I cut myself off as I came to a realization. Black Noir. “Fuck!” I exclaimed, slightly louder than I should have. I saw one of the cops glance up in my direction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” he yelled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Fuck!” I muttered again, quickly trying to gather what little things I had stored here. As I scrambled, I cursed at myself. Of course it had been to good to be true. Black Noir didn’t show up last night to check on me! He was just scoping out the place for Vaught! Anger began to bubble in my stomach, mostly at myself for letting myself be vulnerable, for thinking that maybe one of those fucks actually had a heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I bet that sandwich wasn’t even for me! He just gave it to me so I wouldn’t question what he was doing, didn’t he? And now… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As I fled from the building my anger began to turn into sadness. For the first time since I had been out here I had the impression that someone was looking out for me, that cared. It was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I ran for a couple of blocks, wanting to put some distance between myself and the construction site. How could he do this? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Defeated, I plopped myself down on an empty park bench, putting my head on my knees. The park was fairly busy so a few minutes later I opted for taking out the cash I had stored in the granola bar box and left a few coins in it that I held in front of me. I really was going to need all the change I could get.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the day went on, I tried to think about where I could go. I debated going back to Black Noir’s apartment, I still remembered the location, to give him a piece of my mind. Although, I did want to stay alive, so I quickly vetoed the idea and cursed him out in my head instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I remained on that bench until the sun began to fall, the money I had collected would be enough to get me some food tonight and still be able to save a little towards the jacket I needed to get. I walked down the streets, eyeing the different fast food restaurants, thinking about which one would be the cheapest. I passed by a subway and frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stupid Black Noir,” I mumbled under my breath. I kept walking until I found a 7-11. Sure they didn’t have the best quality of food, I mean what gas station thinks they should also be selling pizza? But it was cheap. I bought myself a slice of probably cheese and ate it as I kept walking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was getting darker and darker and I began to get nervous, I still had to find somewhere safe that I could sleep. It was always risky staying at a tent city. Usually the other people staying at them were fairly nice, and tended to mind their own business, but there was always a chance of the police showing up to tear it down or hell, it had been a few months since Homelander burnt down one of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I decided to make my way towards where I thought there might be one set up, usually there was always a few other homeless people camping out under the freeway and I figured I could stay for one night. As I walked I heard the sound of more sirens going off behind me so I quickly ducked myself into a back alley way. Not that I was doing anything illegal, I just was a kid of colour wandering the streets at night and, you know. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, I quickly regretted my choice of dipping into the alley as when I had turned the corner I instantly got shoved over. I was able to steady myself before I hit the ground. I quickly looked around at the person who had shoved me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I, uh, I don’t want any trouble,” I cautiously said to the group of men who had been lurking. All of them looked like stereotypical gangsters. As if day could get any worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s a kid like you doin’ out here?” one of them said with a chuckle, walking closer towards me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just passing through,” I said, hoping that I would be able to somehow get around them. The man who had spoken crossed his arms,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well there’s a fee to pass through these parts,” he said, him and his goons stepping closer to me, backing me up against a wall. I felt myself gulp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“D-do I look like I have any cash?” I hadn’t meant to stutter. I began to look around at my situation. Sure I could fight these guys, but at the angle I was at, and with the cops lurking nearby? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do I look like I care?” the thug replied. I was so fucked. The man reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a switchblade.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“L-listen,” I shuttered again, trying to tilt my head away from his blade as he held it up to my neck. “I, I don’t have much… R-right pocket, i-inside,” I admitted to where I had my cash, hoping that if he took it, he would be satisfied and would let me pass. Knife still to my throat, the man unzipped the jacket I had on and grabbed the bit of cash I had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This all you have?!” he exclaimed, tossing the cash behind him on the ground. His goonies were stepping closer as well. “Fucking kid bum like you ain’t got more cash?!” I rapidly shook my head, now feeling even more panicked. This was not going to end well for me. The man looked me up and down. “What even are you, hm?” This </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>was not going to end well for me. “Why you look like I have to guess what’s down there?” All of the thugs laughed as one of them hurled a slur towards me. I closed my eyes, trying to keep it together. The leader of the group flipped his switchblade out again, flashing it in front of my eyes. “Why don’t we just see for ourselves?” As he spoke I could feel all of the air leave my body. This couldn’t be happening. I could feel tears already running down my cheeks.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as I felt the tip of the blade by my waist, one of the thugs fell face first onto the ground with a loud thud. All of our heads turned his way, to see what had happened. Standing behind the guy who fell was Black Noir. The man in front of me cursed as Black Noir proceeded to engage the other two in a fight, a fight which he quickly won. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The leader of the group looked down at the tiny switchblade, then to Black Noir. I could see him gulp. He tried to throw the first swing at Noir, which obviously, he dodged before kicking the man's shins. As he stumbled, Black Noir grabbed the back of his shirt and slammed the man face first into the brick wall, multiple times until he lost consciousness, then dropped him on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir looked over to me and held out a thumbs up. I found myself shaking my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is your fault!” I exclaimed. He tilted his head. “I wouldn’t even be out here if it wasn’t for you! That was a shit move you pulled on me!” I realized I was yelling. I tried to take a breath, to calm myself. Black Noir put a hand out, gently trying to take a step towards me. I shook my head and took one back. “No. No, I don’t, you can’t just-” I cut myself off and sighed. “Thanks, and all for this, but please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just leave me alone, stop following me, whatever it is you’re doing. I don’t need your help.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I didn’t wait for Black Noir to give any reaction or gesture in response to what I had said and I began walking down my intended path before I had been cut off, completely forgetting about the cash that had been discarded. I wanted to get away from here as fast as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe I just wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next few weeks went by rather long. I was exhausted from being in a constant state of moving. I hadn't let myself put my guard down since that one night in the alley, and not having a consistent, safe place to sleep was not helping. I had begun to lose track of time, the days blending into each other as I wandered the city with no sense of purpose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were no more crazy encounters, no gunshots, no supes, no nothing. Part of me was relieved. I wasn't sure I could handle another encounter with Black Noir or any of The Seven for that matter. I had briefly missed running into A-Train one night, quite literally. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he ever were to collide with someone. A thought I quickly pushed to the back of my mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I ended up finding another place that so far was proving to be a decent spot for me to sleep. There was an old, abandoned church near the soup kitchen I occasionally visited that I had thought would have been full of squatters, but when I finally went to examine the place, all of the windows and doors were boarded up so that no one could get inside. However, the bell tower was left the way it was since no normal person could get up there. Luckily for me, I could climb. Unfortunately, the bell tower did not offer me a way into the rest of the church, meaning I could only have the base around the bell. It wasn't so bad. When I lay down, the walls were high enough to block the wind, so I took it as a bonus. And, it had more of a roof than my last place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was taking me a little bit longer to save up money again. After I lost what I had stored, which was a decent amount, I hadn't been getting as lucky begging out on the streets. Most of what I was making had gone to just buying myself food. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today, however, it started snowing. A grim reminder that November was only the start of a long winter. I had taken what I had collected to a thrift shop and managed to get myself a decent coat. It wasn't the prettiest, and it definitely was meant for someone younger than me, but it had done a decent job at keeping me warm. I hoped it would be enough to make it through the winter. All I needed now was a pair of gloves and a hat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Spending all of that cash meant I didn't have any left for food. I debated going the night without, but it was still snowing, and I wanted the ability to go inside for a little bit to defrost myself, shake the snow off my jacket without freezing. So, I opted to head for the soup kitchen. It had been a few weeks since I had last been, and I figured even if the same people were there as last time, they would have forgotten me by now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When I got to the soup kitchen, I noticed that there was a line out the door. That was odd; it never was that busy. Maybe other people were in the same position as me now that it had gotten colder. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and got in line, not putting a second thought to why it might be busy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn't take that long for me to make it to the door. I swung it open and suddenly realized why there had been a bit of a line. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It appeared certain members of The Seven were the volunteers tonight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well fuck me," I muttered, looking at the lineup of supes. Homelander was at the front, happily handing out trays. Beside him, Queen Maeve, The Deep, and- "Nope, not doing this," I whispered, turning myself around before Black Noir saw me standing in the doorway. I started walking back towards my bell tower, cursing my stupid powers for being able to know something terrible was happening halfway across the city but was unable to warn me about that.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I walked behind the soup kitchen building, wanting to take the alley back, when I saw Black Noir standing there. I cursed in my head. Seems I was seen. He looked at me, and I ran a hand through my short hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"B-black Noir!" I stuttered, suddenly feeling nervous about this exchange. The last time I had seen him, I yelled at him—one of the best fighters in the world. I also had been starting to feel guilty about that. I looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry," I said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He did not say anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You were just trying to make up for, and I just-" I cut myself off as I looked back at Black Noir, who now suddenly had a tray of the food from the soup kitchen in his hands. I grinned slightly. "We're cool?" I asked. Black Noir nodded once. My grin grew as I grabbed the tray. "Thank you." I grabbed the spoon and was about to take a bite, but stopped myself. "Wait, don't tell me they let you guys cook this shit, did they?" I asked, a hint of joking in my voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir tilted his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nevermind. Was just trying to be funny…" I trailed off. "Well, thanks again. You should probably go back before you get in trouble or something." Again, Black Noir nodded. I offered a small wave as he turned to go back through the back door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I quickly ate the food that he had brought and left the tray by the back door, wanting to make sure that it made it back to the kitchen and took off back towards the belltower. I was really beginning to regret not having mittens as I scaled my way back up the cold brick to get to my little nest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I curled myself up under my jacket, bringing my knees up to my chest so they were covered and leaned my head back against the brick, looking up at the cloudy sky. It definitely was going to snow even more overnight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>About an hour had passed since I had left the soup kitchen when my supe senses alerted me that someone was here. I poked my head over the side of the bell tower to check it out and saw nothing. When I turned back around, however, Black Noir was standing right in front of me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Jesus!" I exclaimed, putting a hand to my chest. I looked at Black Noir then back over the railing. "How the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you get up here?" I shook my head. "Don't tell me you're sticky too." He said nothing. "Sorry, that was a joke… Unless you really are-" I cut myself off as I watched Black Noir take off the backpack he had. Did he always have a backpack? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held it out towards me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What's this?" I asked, eyeing it carefully. Black Noir just nodded, motioning that I should take the bag. Cautiously, I took one of the straps, waiting to make sure he wasn't going to snatch it back away from me. Upon taking it, I noticed that there was a bit of weight to the bag. "C-can I open it?" I asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. I grinned, unzipping the bag excitedly, like a kid on Christmas. I looked at what was sitting on the very top of the bag and laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"A knife?!" I pulled it out of the bag and held it up. "You're giving me a knife?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nod. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alrighty," I chuckled a little as I looked the blade over. It looked very similar to one of the many Black Noir had on his supe outfit. I briefly wondered just how many knives he had on him at any given time. "Thanks!" I finally said, setting the blade down beside me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was still more in the bag, but as I reached in to see what was next, Black Noir spun his head, looking back towards the soup kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They looking for you?" I asked him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded once, still looking in that direction, then he looked back to me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright, no worries. Thanks for this," I said, nodding down towards the bag. Black Noir offered me a thumbs up and then leapt off of the bell tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I shook my head with a small laugh as I sat down with the backpack he had given me. I opened it up the rest of the way and pulled out what was left. There were a few bottles of water, some more snacks, a small blanket, a Subway gift card, and-- I felt myself tear up as I pulled the last thing out of the bag—a new binder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I happily put everything back in the backpack, other than the knife, and hugged it close to my chest. Maybe someone out there did care.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Two days later, when I made my way back to my belltower, Subway sandwich keeping warm in my new backpack, I noticed that something was waiting for me. It was a small black thermos sitting tucked in the blanket I had left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Curiously, I picked it up. As I did, I noticed a small sticky note stuck to the bottom. I pulled it off to see what it said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"B.N." I read out loud, a small grin appearing on my face. The two letters were scribbled with a giant black sharpie. I laughed a little as I twisted open the lid to the thermos, my smile growing as I smelt the still hot chicken soup. "Soup from a supe," I murmured to myself with another laugh. I figured I wouldn't mind eating a cold sub and didn't waste any time eating the soup Black Noir had left for me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was so good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Given, that could have been because it was a freezing day in November. I hadn't eaten anything yet all day, but this soup had to have been the most incredible thing I had ever eaten in my entire life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I tried to savour it, to get it to last as long as possible, but I ended up finishing it very quickly. I smiled again as I screwed the lid back onto the thermos, my stomach feeling warm and happy. I then looked down at the empty container in my hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Did he want this back?" I asked myself. I could not decide if the thermos was supposed to be a gift or not, so I ended up leaving my belltower, heading back towards his apartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I hadn't been there in a while. After all, it had been nearly a month since I had been shot, so it took me a little bit of wandering to find the right building. Once I found the building, I also realized I didn't know which window led to the right one. I ended up crawling around on the fire escape for nearly twenty minutes, peering into random windows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, I found the fire escape that led to Black Noir's kitchen. There were a few lights on, so I tried tapping on the window a few times, hoping that he would hear me. I mean, he did have super hearing after all. Part of me was surprised that he hadn't come to investigate when I was hopping around outside. I received no response to my knocking, so I figured he must've not been home, or maybe he had headphones in or something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I decided that my best bet would be to crack open the window a little so that I could go inside and set the thermos down on his table then dip back out before anyone saw me. To my surprise, the window was already unlocked. I began to climb through when a knife whizzed in front of my face and planted itself in the wall beside me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Jesus, Fuck!" I shouted, recoiling backwards out the window. "Noir! It's me! Riley!" I exclaimed, daring to peek through the window again. Black Noir walked out from the corner he was beside, another knife in his hand. His other hand was covering his mouth, at least over the mask, almost like he looked embarrassed. "I-I tried to knock…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir slowly put the knife down and quickly walked over to me, offering a hand to help me climb through the window. I laughed a little, embarrassed as well, but accepted the help. Once inside, I looked back at the knife that was lodged into the window frame. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You, uh, you meant to miss… right?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir said nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riiight." I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure of what to say next when I realized why I was even here in the first place. "Oh!" I exclaimed, swinging my backpack around. "I was just trying to return your thermos." I pulled it out of my backpack and held it out to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked between the thermos in my hand and then to me, then back to the thermos. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I, uh, I didn't know if you wanted it back or anything…" I awkwardly said, setting it down on the table. I scratched my head. "Right. Well, uh, thanks again for this. It was good!" I looked back at Black Noir, who hadn't even moved. "O-kay. I'm going to go now…" I turned around to the window, which was still wide open, despite the snow blowing in from outside. Before I left, I offered Black Noir a thumbs up. "Have a good night!" I said over my shoulder as I leapt back down. "Well, that went well," I murmured to myself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two days later, when I went back to my belltower after begging on the streets all day, I found the exact same thermos in the same spot. There was no note this time, but it was pretty clear who it was from. Today it seemed I was left with tomato soup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once I had finished it, I figured I should bring the thermos back again. After all, I did get more soup from doing so, and I was a bit like a stray cat in that way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I took the thermos back to Black Noir's apartment, this time remembering which one was his. I climbed up the wall and onto his fire escape. The window was unlocked again, so I slid it open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hello?" I called out, wanting to avoid getting a knife almost in my skull. "It's Riley!" Naturally, there was no response. I climbed in through the window when I noticed Black Noir walking into the kitchen a second later. I offered him a small wave. "Thanks for the soup again," I said with a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. I set the thermos back down on the table as I had done a few days ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It was really good! They must feed you good at that tower, hey?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head no.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh?" I thought for a second. "D-did you make that soup?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wow! That's, I didn't think, I mean, I guess you probably know more than just…" I trailed off, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, I guess I'll get going. Thanks again." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two days later, same thing. This time it seemed like Black Noir went fancy and made wonton soup. I couldn't help but laugh at the image of him making wontons in that supe outfit. For some reason, the idea of him doing anything in regular clothes seemed crazy. The soup was delicious, again, and once I was finished, I took off, back to his apartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today, however, there were no lights on inside. But the window was still unlocked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hello?" I called through the window after opening it. "Black Noir?" Nothing. I debated leaving and coming back later, but it was a bit of a trek to get here, and I felt lazy. So, I decided to just crawl in. I'm sure he would find it if I left it on the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once I set down the thermos, I looked around at the apartment, a twinge of curiosity in my gut. No one knew anything about this guy, despite how famous he was, and here I was, free access to his private apartment. I managed to convince myself not to snoop around. I didn't want to risk anything, not when I was getting a free meal every other day. Instead, I flipped on a light in the kitchen and looked around for a scrap piece of paper and a pen, which luckily was easy to find. I went back to the table and scribbled out a note. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks again. -R" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I grinned as I looked down at it. I quickly decided to doodle a small happy face beside the R and gently placed the piece of paper beside the thermos. I let myself out, going back through the fire escape, making sure to close the window behind me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so this charade kept going. Every other day I would find the thermos back at the belltower full of soup, or one day, chilli. And, as usual, I would bring it back to Black Noir's apartment. Some days he was there, sometimes he was not. Either way, our interactions were always quick. I would say thank you, compliment his soup-making skills, he would nod, and I would leave. Nice and quick. I was beginning to feel guilty for taking up this man's time and resources. Although he didn't seem to mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We carried on like this for quite a while, nothing new or strange going on. That is, at least until that one night in December.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was cold. Like, really, really fucking cold. I didn’t even think it was possible to get this cold, especially in New York. Maybe that was just because I had never been outside so much in December, but it was freezing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To say I was unprepared had been an understatement. Sure, I had my winter jacket and all, but the mitts and hat I had were both cheap and very used. I had on two pairs of sweatpants, but my legs had started to feel numb already. My boots were okay. Thankfully I could manage to put on every pair of socks I had, which was three, and still fit the shoes on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had no luck finding myself a scarf. The second-hand shop seemed to have sold out of all winter gear, everyone in the same position as I was. So I had to bury my face in my jacket. This also meant it was hard to look up at people as I begged for money, so I got even less than I usually did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time I made it back to my belltower, I was cold, hungry, and sad. Luckily for me, it was a soup day, and there was a thermos waiting for me. I could barely open the lid, my hands were shaking so badly, and when I finally did open it, I ended up spilling some of the soup onto the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit!” I exclaimed, watching the soup instantly freeze to the pavement. Nonetheless, I still tried to enjoy the rest of the soup, which was French Onion today. Although, by the time I had got to the end, the soup was already cold. With hands shaking even more than before, I put the lid back on. For a brief moment, I considered bringing back the thermos in the morning, feeling too cold to move, that I could just stay here and sleep. Ultimately, I convinced myself that moving around might warm me up, so I took off towards the direction of his apartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was even colder by the time I arrived. As I walked, the wind seemed to pick up, and my entire body was shaking as I scrambled up the cold, metal fire escape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-hello?” I called out into the apartment, having cracked the window. Although, as I tried to open it even further, I realized that the window was frozen shut. “Fuck…” I mumbled under my breath, trying to pry it open. I had no luck; my body felt too weak to be doing much of anything. I was about to give up, to leave the thermos outside the window and go home when I saw Black Noir walk into the kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw me struggling to get the window open and walked over, opening it with a simple tug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-thanks,” I stuttered, my teeth still chattering. Without going inside, I took the thermos out of my bag and handed it to him. Black Noir looked at the thermos, then back to me. He shook his head, and instead of grabbing the thermos, he grabbed my wrist as if he were to help me inside. “I-” I started, but before I realized what was happening, I was being dragged in. I looked at him with shock. “What the fuck?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir said nothing; instead, he made his way through the kitchen, filling a kettle with water and plugging it in. Next, he opened a cupboard and pulled out two different jars. He held them out to me. One was a black tea and the other earl gray. I squinted. Was he asking me to choose? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With my still shaking hand, I pointed towards the earl gray. He nodded and began to prepare the tea while I just stood there, confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-you don’t n-need t-to…” I started. Black Noir looked at me. “I’m f-fine.” Again, he shook his head. He walked up to me again, this time grabbing one of my hands. “Wha-” I started to protest, but Black Noir took off the thin gloves I had on. I winced at the pain it caused, when I looked at my hands, even I could spot the early stages of frostbite. I only could imagine how my ears looked. “Fine,” I sighed. “P-point p-proven.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. He then made his way towards the living room, motioning for me to follow. He picked up a fuzzy blanket from the couch and gently wrapped it around my shoulders. He pointed to the couch, inviting me to sit down while he went off into another room. I sat down, curiously watching as he came back with a small box. Said box plugged into an outlet and was then wheeled right in front of me. Black Noir hit a button to turn on the machine, and I quickly realized what it was. A heater. I grinned a little as I put my hands in front of the warm air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-thank you,” I said, teeth still chattering. Black Noir nodded and then went back into the kitchen, presumably to check on the tea. I looked back at the heater, trying to wiggle my fingers in front of the air, sending pain through my arm. I realized that I had no feeling in my toes either, so I then attempted to get my boots off. Then, I brought my knees to my chest so that they could also be under the blanket while my feet poked out to the heater. I let myself lean back a little on the couch; I had forgotten how comfy it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Black Noir came back, a mug of tea in each hand. He offered one to me, which I took graciously, and then he sat himself down on the other end of the couch. I held the cup close to my face, enjoying the warm steam and smell emitting from it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” I said again. Black Noir looked over at me and nodded. Then, he reached to the table beside him and held up a remote, motioning towards the flat screen T.V. that hung on the wall. He held the remote to me. I shook my head. “You choose.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded and flicked on the T.V. I watched as he flipped through the channels, curious to see what kind of show he would put on. When he landed on Love It or List It, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He looked over at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“S-sorry,” I laughed again. “I just… I didn’t take you for a home renovation show watcher.” Black Noir held the remote back to me. “No! No, this is fine! I just didn’t think-- nevermind.” I giggled again, picking my mug of tea back up. “I bet they’re going to love it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We watched the episode in complete silence, both of us drinking our tea. However, he was drinking his right through his mask, which I also found very humorous. The length of the show was about how long it took me to defrost. I was starting to get feeling back in my limbs, and I slowly had begun to stop shaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The episode ended, I had been right, they decided to stay and not list the house, and I stood up off the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” I started. “I should--” I cut myself off as Black Noir had also gotten up but simply left the room. “Get going…” I finished to the empty living room. I stood there confused for a second before bending back down to tie up my boots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was just standing up again when Black Noir came back into the living room. Only now, he had more blankets and a pillow stacked in his arms. I watched, still confused, as he lay them down across the couch. He then looked up to me and nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t…” I started, slowly piecing together what he was implying. “I-I don’t want to impose.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really! It’s fine, you’ve already done so much, and I don’t want to-” I was cut off again as Black Noir changed the channel on T.V. He had turned to a news station, which conveniently, was reporting the weather. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One of the coldest nights New York City has ever seen!” the news anchor was saying. Black Noir looked at it then back to me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…” I looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling embarrassed that this was a situation I was in. “I can’t.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Black Noir standing beside me. He nodded once. I rubbed the back of my neck, slowly nodding with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay…” I finally said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir offered me a thumbs up, and I laughed a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, uh,” I went on a second later. “I d-don’t suppose I could ask to, uh, use your shower?” I scratched the back of my head again, feeling embarrassed by that question. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded and held up a finger as if to say, ‘hang on.’ He went back into what I now assumed was his room and came back with a couple of towels. Sitting on top of the towels was a pair of sweatpants, a hoodie, and what looked like a hotel set of shampoo and soap. I smiled again as I took them. He nodded his head to one of the two closed doors that branched off from the living room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” I said again. “Really.” I let myself into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I took a brief moment to appreciate the room. No wonder he liked watching home decor shows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I hadn’t had a proper shower in quite some time, so I didn’t waste any time hopping in. I was still a little chilled from being outside, so I cranked the heat up and let the hot water envelop me. Though my hair was short, it still felt incredible to run shampoo through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I spent probably half an hour in the shower. Half of the time actually cleaning myself, and the other half enjoying the fact that I was in a real, honest to goodness, and super fancy, shower. Once I was done, I dried off and put on the clothes he had given me. Judging from the size and how big they were on me, I assumed that they must’ve been Black Noir’s. The thought of him actually wearing something different baffled me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wiped the steam off of the mirror and looked in at myself. I frowned slightly; no wonder Black Noir had taken pity on me. I ran a hand over my face with a sigh then looked back at the bathroom door. This was going to be a weird night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When I walked back out into the living room, a bowl of popcorn was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, where Black Noir was sitting, snacking on some. He seemed to have heard the bathroom door open and looked over at me. His mask was slightly rolled up so that he could eat. With the lighting, I noticed that the lower half of his face seemed to be scared. Black Noir realized that I could see half of his face, and he quickly turned his head back to the T.V. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Popcorn, hey?” I asked, wanting to break the silence. Without turning his head, he nodded and held the bowl over to me. I plopped myself back down on the couch and grabbed a few pieces. Now it appeared we were watching the Property Brothers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I pulled some of the blankets Black Noir had given me up to my shoulders and lay on my side to watch. Before I even realized how exhausted I was, I ended up drifting off to sleep. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When I woke up the next morning, there was an amazing smell wafting in from the kitchen. I wasn't used to the feeling of waking up feeling comfy and warm with the smell of bacon, so I took an extra minute on the couch to enjoy it. I mean, after all, I had no idea when I would be in a place like this again; it's not like I could keep sleeping at Black Noir's apartment. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Black Noir and all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I rolled myself off of the couch, wrapping one of the blankets around my shoulders like a cape and wandered into the kitchen to see what was cooking. Black Noir was standing over the stove, wearing a bright pink apron over his suit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's a good look for you," I said with a small laugh. Black Noir looked over at me then down to his apron. He looked back up at me. "Sorry, I'm just teasing, uh, nevermind. Whatcha making?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He motioned over to a plate of pancakes sitting on the table with the spatula in his hand. I nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Smells good," I said, watching him flip another before going back to flip the bacon. He then grabbed another plate and put the fresh pancake on it along with two strips of bacon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir held the plate out to me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-you made that for me?" I asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I…" I started looking down at the plate. As I did, I felt a wave of guilt flood through me. "You didn't have to," I said, still not taking the plate. "You've already done so much for me and-" Black Noir cut me off by bringing the plate closer to me, so I had no choice but to take it. I grinned a little, and with a shake of my head, I took it and sat down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir grabbed a plate for himself and sat down across from me. I looked down at my own food while he rolled his mask up slightly so that he could eat. I was about to start eating when that feeling of guilt came rushing back. Not only that, but a few months ago, I told myself I was never going to trust another supe. Especially The Seven. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My mind began to spiral, recalling the things I had seen some of the supes do, what I'd heard from others out on the street before I finally landed on a conclusion as to why Black Noir was so nice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What do you want from me?" I blurted. Black Noir looked up at me. "I'm sorry, it's just, this is weird.. I've been trying not to question it, but I can't anymore. So what's your game?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir tilted his head. Of course, he had nothing to say. I pushed my chair back from the table, standing up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have to go. I don't know what you think you're up to, but I… I'm a kid! A-and I can only think of bad things that someone like you would do to someone like me." I ran a hand through my hair. "I can't afford to let myself trust you," I finally said, feeling slightly guilty as I did. But it needed to be said. I needed to cut off whatever this was before I dug myself further into this grave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked back at Black Noir. He was now standing up from the table as well, just staring at me. I sighed and turned around towards the window, getting ready to leave when--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I spun myself back around. I definitely hadn't said that. I looked at Black Noir, slightly in disbelief. I wasn't hearing things, was I? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Just… Wait," Black Noir said. His words were slow, his voice raspy. He quickly walked back towards his bedroom. I remained frozen in place, trying to process what was going on. Part of me was slightly afraid. I debated making a break for it. I was fast enough; I could be back to the belltower, collect my things, and be halfway across the city in a few minutes. But it seemed like my feet were planted to the ground. Black Noir, famous for never speaking, just spoke. To me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A second later, Black Noir came back into the kitchen, now holding something in his hands. It was a photo. He gently held it out to me, then looked down at the ground. Carefully, I took the photograph from his hands, a wide range of emotions suddenly coursing through my body. In the photo was a woman holding an infant, and beside them… My own father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What the Hell is this?" I asked, shoving the photo back at Black Noir, suddenly feeling afraid again. He took the picture and pointed to the woman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My mother…" he spoke softly. He then pointed to the infant. "Me." Then he pointed to the man, my father. I shook my head, not believing what I knew he was about to say. "My father…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I started, but my mind had gone numb; my mouth just hung open as I tried to process. "He never…" I trailed off, still unable to form any coherent thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He left," Black Noir spoke again. "Six days later." I opened my mouth to say something, but I quickly shut it again. I mean, I knew my dad was an asshole, but--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That means," I finally said. I looked up Black Noir. "You're my brother." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded once. A could feel a small grin on my lips. It quickly turned into a small laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You knew about this the whole time?" I asked, still partly laughing. Black Noir nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" he started. "Tried to say… I'm sorry." I shook my head, and before I even realized what I was doing, I had wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I've always wanted a brother." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir seemed confused by the hug, but a second later, he returned it; I thought I could hear him sniffle. We stayed like that for a few moments. I was still partly trying to wrap my head around what was going on. Everything seemed to make sense, why he did all that he did… I pulled back from the hug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry I accused you of being a child predator," I said, feeling embarrassed about my outburst over pancakes. I saw Black Noir grin, and he shook his head softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Is that what you were accusing me of?" he asked. I rubbed the back of my neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, I mean," I looked back down at the pancakes, which were still sitting on the table. "C-can I keep eating?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. Black Noir nodded, and the two of us sat down. I eagerly cut myself a large piece and shoved it into my mouth. "So how'd-" I started, mouth still full. I quickly swallowed. "How'd you know about me?" I asked. Black Noir set his picture back down on the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I tracked him down," he said, looking at it. My eyes went wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You went to their house?!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded. "They mentioned you." I felt myself gulp. "Wanted me to find you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What?" I was feeling nervous again. "You haven't told them I'm here-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No," Black Noir interrupted me. "When I saw what they did, you told me that first day…" he trailed off. I felt myself look down, unconsciously rubbing the scars on my arms from them. "You're safe here," he finally said. I looked up again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-you want me to stay?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Noir nodded. I could feel tears forming in my eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I rubbed my eyes to avoid crying in front of him. "Okay. Yeah. Living with my brother… Sounds really fun." </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>minor spoilers for season 2??? </p><p>I realize this fic takes place before season one but... I mean you'll get it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>We finished breakfast, and I helped Black Noir clean up the dishes. Neither of us had really said that much since </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>conversation. I wasn’t really sure what to say. I don’t think he did either. Once the kitchen was cleaned up, I looked over at Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So…” I started, wanting to break the silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have work,” Black Noir interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. That’s a thing you, uh, you do. Off to the tower?” I asked. He nodded. “Do, do they know you have this place?” Black Noir shook his head no. “Are you allowed… to have this place?” Again he shook his head. I laughed a little. “Right. Well, I won’t tell anyone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded again. “I’ll be back tomorrow evening,” he said, walking towards the front door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-tomorrow?” I asked. “What, uh, what should I do till then?” Black Noir turned around and looked at me. I guess he hadn’t thought about that either. He walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled on it and then handed it to me. “Is this a credit card number?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded. I laughed again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You trust me with your credit card?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again he nodded. He then walked over to the second door that led off from the living room and opened it up. He motioned for me to come over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your room,” he said. I looked in at the empty room. I nodded my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can decorate it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. “You may want to purchase a bed first,” he deadpanned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Can I get some clothes too?” I asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir nodded. “Whatever you need.” And with that, he made his way back to the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay! Thanks! I’ll see you-” I tried to say, but he was already out the door. “Later,” I finished to the now-empty apartment. I sighed and looked around, then down to the paper in my hands. “Whatever I need,” I repeated to myself, a small grin appearing on my face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I spent the next four hours online shopping. I had managed to find a laptop in the apartment, so I curled myself up on the couch, just buying things. I started at IKEA. I wasn’t quite sure how much of a limit I had, and I didn’t want to go crazy with fancy stuff, so I figured IKEA was a great place to start. I measured my new room and selected a queen-sized bed and appropriate furniture to fill the rest of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Next, I found myself on about a million different clothing websites. I’d never had the freedom, not like this, to get clothes that I really felt happy with, so I may have gotten carried away. Most of the sites even offered the same day or express shipping, which I figured Black Noir wouldn’t mind me paying extra for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had just finished buying myself a new wardrobe when all the furniture showed up outside the front door. I brought all the boxes in and realized that I was going to have to build all of these things by myself. How hard could that be? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun was long set by the time I had assembled everything. It would’ve gone faster had I not assembled half of the Songesand backwards. But the room looked good. I just hoped that it would be up to Black Noir’s home decor standards. I threw myself onto the bed, enjoying the choice of fuzzy blankets I had picked. I almost fell asleep, right then and there, but I felt my stomach rumble. I was going to ignore it, as I was used to doing when I realized that food definitely counted as ‘whatever I needed.’ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took me a while to decide what to order. In the end, I ended up ordering from three different restaurants as I could decide which I wanted the most. That was how I ended up curled up on the couch again, this time with a Star Wars movie on, a pizza box on the table in front of me, two Chinese takeout containers on the ground, and the tub of ice cream on my lap. Who knew Ben and Jerry’s delivered?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I ended up falling asleep on the couch. It was about 3 A.M when I woke up from the food coma and forced myself to crawl into my bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh,” I giggled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>My</span>
  </em>
  <span> bed.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Part of me had been expecting Black Noir to be back by the time I woke up, even though he said he wouldn’t be till the evening. So when he wasn’t there, I felt a little disappointed. I walked out to the living room and noticed the giant mess I had created the day before. Not only were my food leftovers scattered around, but the empty boxes and styrofoam from all of the stuff I ordered were also everywhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked at it all. Maybe I could use his credit card to hire someone to come clean? I shook the thought; he was letting me stay here, the least I could do was clean up. Maybe I could even get supper going so that he wouldn’t have to cook when he got home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wasn’t the best at cooking, so I figured I would have to cook something easy. Thankfully, I learnt that grocery stores also now deliver, so it didn’t take me long to figure out what to make. Black Noir struck me as the kind of guy who liked to eat healthy, so I decided on a salad. One with like, cranberries and almonds and spinach and stuff! Throw a little chicken in there, and we would have supper!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a while since I last cooked, so I made sure to start early, wanting to take the time to make sure I did everything right and still had time to clean up. It appeared I had timed it well, and I was just tossing the salad when I heard the front door open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” I called out. “I’m just making dinner!” Black Noir wandered into the kitchen, looking at me with surprise. “I, uh, I wasn’t sure what you liked and all, so I made a little cranberry almond salad!” I exclaimed, showing off my creation. He said nothing; he simply looked at the bowl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A second later, he moved again, heading towards the window. I watched, confused, as he cracked it open. He then walked over to me, grabbed the bowl of salad right out of my hands, and threw the entire thing out the window. My mouth fell open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed a second later. Noir looked back at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” he started but cut himself off. I crossed my arms. I heard him sigh, and he then reached into one of his pockets, pulling something out. He handed it to me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “A-an epi-pen?” I asked. “Why would you--oh. Oh! Oh no!” Black Noir nodded. I rubbed the back of my neck. “Really? You? Immortal killer?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well. My bad then…” I turned around and looked back at the kitchen, recalling the lazy job I had done of wiping down the counters. “I’ll just… disinfect in here… I guess.” I looked down at the ground. “I was just trying to…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I appreciate it,” Black Noir said. I grinned a little. “We could order in?” he suggested. “Do you like pizza?” I found myself rolling my eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sixteen. Of course, I like pizza. Can we also get wings?” Black Noir nodded and pulled out his phone. I wandered over to the window and glanced out at the bowl of salad, which was now three stories down. “You know you could’ve just said something instead of throwing that nice bowl into the alley…” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I only saw Black Noir every other evening. I guess being a member of The Seven was a very demanding job. I didn’t mind the time by myself; at first, it was a little unnerving. Even when I was living with my parents, I didn’t have the same kind of freedom. Black Noir had even agreed to me buying an Xbox, something I had always wanted but was never allowed, and my days were now filled with video games. So, maybe it wasn’t the most productive way to spend my time, but at least I wasn’t out on the streets.</p><p>There had been a very brief discussion of me going back to school, however, we realized it might be hard considering I would need a legal guardian to enroll me, and technically my legal guardians had me listed as a missing person. Black Noir also made sure to mention that he didn’t want Vaught to find out about me, something I agreed to. I briefly mentioned some of the things I had seen other members of The Seven do, and the subject was quickly dropped with Black Noir getting up and leaving for The Tower, not wanting to talk about it. </p><p>As for when Black Noir was home, we seemed to be getting along well. He still wasn’t much for talking; I don’t think I had heard him say more than two sentences in a row yet. We usually spent the evening cooking together, mostly just me watching over his shoulder and copying what he was doing, but it was fun. </p><p>After that, we would wind up just watching T.V. together. Mostly still home decor shows, but I had started us watching Brooklyn-Nine-Nine, so we switched back and forth. It was always hard to tell if he was even enjoying any of the shows, but he never complained when I turned Netflix on. </p><p>Occasionally I could even convince him to play a video game with me. Given his hand-eye coordination, I had assumed that he would be very good at them, hence why I asked him to play in the first place, but it turned out he was exceptionally bad. Usually, now he simply watches me play as I explain whatever quests I had done while he was gone and what I was doing then. It was fun. </p><p>December seemed to fly by after I had moved in. I didn’t even notice until Black Noir told me he would be gone for a few days as Vought always went crazy around the holidays. Much more P.R. events, outings and team-ups, and of course, the Vaught Christmas Eve Spectaculathon. All of which Noir complained about. And by complaining, of course, I mean the loud sigh he gave when I mentioned it. When I asked if he wanted to do anything for the holiday, he had simply shrugged. </p><p>“I have not celebrated Christmas in many years,” he had explained before leaving on the twenty-second. When I suggested he ask for the day off so we could do something, he had shrugged again. I was beginning to think that the holidays may be a sore spot for him, and prying was the last thing I wanted to do, so I dropped the subject. </p><p>I didn’t mind spending Christmas Eve by myself; it was a significant improvement from spending it with my parents, that was for sure. I had turned on the spectaculathon, wanting to see what Black Noir was up to. Still, I couldn’t stand looking at the rest of the members of The Seven. Although I hadn’t known him that long, I could also tell that Noir was uncomfortable with the live T.V. set and all the cameras, so I quickly turned it off, feeling bad for him. </p><p>I began to wonder if I should’ve gotten him a Christmas present. I mean, we didn’t discuss getting each other gifts, but I wanted to do something. Even as a thank you. I wasn’t sure how he would take to me decorating the place at the last minute, so I opted for some Christmas baking. If I had any good memories of the holidays myself, it was the cookies we would make. Although, then again, the best ones were the peanut butter cookies and well… </p><p>“Shame he’s never had peanut butter cookies before,” I said to myself, looking at a recipe online. Then I got an idea. I quickly added ‘nut-free’ to my search bar and quickly found a bunch more recipes, none of which would kill my newly found half-brother. </p><p>I spent the rest of the evening making them, after making a quick run to the grocery store, which somehow was still open on Christmas Eve. I made sure to taste test a few, just to ensure quality, and then put the rest into a cute little Christmas tin I had found while at the store. </p><p>Christmas morning, I made myself breakfast, attempting at cinnamon buns like we would usually have Christmas morning. They weren’t the greatest, but I happily ate them on the couch watching the Christmas movies that were playing on T.V.</p><p>It was midafternoon when the door swung open. I had yet to leave the couch and was still in my pyjamas. I spun around on the couch, surprised to see Black Noir back already. </p><p>“Merry Christmas!” I exclaimed, a grin on my face. “They actually gave you the day off?” Black Noir nodded. </p><p>“How are you?” he asked a second later. </p><p>“I’m good! I mean, it’s been a bit of a weird Christmas so far, but I’m really glad you’re back! I got you something!” I ran over to the kitchen to get the tin of cookies. Black Noir trailed behind me, looking confused. </p><p>“You did not have to-” Black Noir started, but I shook my head. </p><p>“I know, I just wanted to do something for you as a thank you, and well,” I handed him the tin. “Now, before you go and throw them out the window, you have to know that these are a hundred percent tree nut and peanut free!” Black Noir looked down at the tin, carefully taking the lid off. </p><p>“Peanut butter cookies?” he asked. I nodded, grinning again. </p><p>“Technically wow-butter cookies, but they taste pretty much the same,” I explained. Black Noir simply stared at them. “Y-you can still throw them out the window… if you wanted.” He still said nothing. A few moments later, he set the tin down on the table and walked right up to me. For a second, I had no idea what he was trying to accomplish when he very stiffly wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I laughed a little at the attempt of a hug and pulled him in closer.</p><p>“Thank you, Riley,” he said. “I got you something as well.” He held a finger up to say hang on and disappeared into his room. A second later, he came back, a small box in his hands. He handed it to me and nodded, motioning for me to open it. </p><p>Gently, I took off the lid to the box, feeling a little excited about receiving a gift. Inside the box was a necklace chain, and on the chain,</p><p>“Is this a bullet?” I asked, examining the metal. Black Noir nodded. The bullet was one that had definitely been fired, and no doubt had hit something. Or someone. “Wait,” I laughed, putting the pieces together. “Is this the bullet that was in me?!” Again, Black Noir nodded. “This is the most badass thing ever.” I slipped the necklace over my head. “Thank you.” </p><p>“You are welcome,” he said. </p><p>“Want to try a cookie?” I asked a moment later, picking the tin back up from the table. Black Noir gently grabbed one and rolled up his mask to his nose. “I swear it won’t kill you,” I added. </p><p>And for the first time since I had known him, I actually saw Black Noir smile,</p><p>“You are right,” he said grinning. “I’m only allergic to tree nuts.” </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>New Years came and went without any problems. Like Christmas, Black Noir was needed for Vaught’s programming that they did on New Years, so I was all by myself the night of. I actually ended up falling asleep around eleven, missing the countdown completely. Which was a bit of a shame as I had wanted to watch Vaught’s New Years Special so I could keep watching Black Noir wearing those New Years glasses that they made on top of his mask, but I made sure to take a picture whenever he popped onto the screen to save for later.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the holidays had officially passed, Black Noir and I fell back into a routine where he would be back every other night. We would hang out, and then after breakfast, he would head back to The Seven Tower to do, well, The Seven things, I guess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had begun to notice that Noir never wanted to talk about his work. Whenever I would ask how his day was or what he had been up to, I was either met with typical Black Noir silence, or he would change the conversation. It was weird. I understood that he probably couldn’t talk about some of the stuff as it was no doubt classified, but I found it odd that I wouldn’t get as much as a shrug when I asked how he was. I tried not to dwell on it. It’s not like he was much of a ‘talk about my feelings’ kind of guy. Which was fine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, things started to become pretty normal; the surrealness of it all had begun to slowly wear off. It felt nice having a family again. One that actually cared about me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The routine we fell into was nice. It was a bit of a weird structure. Still, I enjoyed the consistency, always knowing when to expect Black Noir. I would always get excited about the time we would spend together. So, when one night the routine was broken, I knew something was wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two of us were watching Love It Or List It when Black Noir’s phone rang, which hardly ever happened. I could tell from the small sigh that left his lips when he read the caller I.D that it had to be work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will likely have to go,” he said to me before accepting the call. I nodded, watching how his shoulders tensed up when he answered. I couldn’t make out what the person on the other end was saying, but by the time Black Noir put the phone down, he was already heading towards the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” I asked. Black Noir didn’t respond. I squinted my eyes as I watched him head out the door, not even offering me a wave as he left. “What a weirdo,” I muttered to myself, turning back around to the T.V. I changed the channel to the news, wondering if there was some sort of incident happening or something that may require a supe, but there was nothing. I shrugged it off and turned back to the episode, figuring Black Noir wouldn’t mind if I finished it, and didn’t put another thought into what had just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was about two in the morning when I heard noises coming from the kitchen. Black Noir hadn’t come back since he had left, so I had gone to bed, figuring I wouldn’t see him till the next day, like usual. The noises in the kitchen were loud, so I cautiously opened my bedroom door, half expecting to see someone breaking in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noir?” I asked, voice still sleepy. “D-did you just climb in through the window? I thought I was the only one who would do that,” I laughed a little, flipping on the light switch. “Holy shit,” I muttered upon seeing Black Noir in the light. My eyes went wide as I looked at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the moment, he was bent over the kitchen sink, clearly rinsing blood out of his gloves and off his hands and arms. When the lights went on, his head had snapped up, and I saw multiple bullet holes in the front of the suit and a large crack on the side of his helmet. His mask was rolled up past his nose, and I could see blood dripping out of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened?!” I exclaimed, running up to him. “Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing a box of tissues and the first aid kit. Black Noir simply stared at me, looking as if he hadn’t expected to see me. I could see his lower jaw tremble. “Noir?” I asked again, softer this time. Without a word, he simply brushed past me, walking towards his room, rubbing his sleeve on his nose with a sniffle. “Are you crying?” I tried to follow him, feeling even more worried, but found the door shut in my face. “Noir!” I shouted again, knocking on the door. I heard the sound of him locking it. I knocked a few more times. “Noir…” I put my forehead against the door. “Talk to me. Did something happen?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other end of the door, I could hear more sniffles. I could hear Black Noir pacing around his room; a second later, there was a loud crash. “Noir?!” I yelled through the door. No response, just another crash. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was tearing his room apart. I could hear glass smash, furniture being tipped over, the sound of his fists colliding with the walls. I stood on the other side of the door, feeling powerless. There was an ache in my chest that almost convinced me to break down the door to his room, but I had to convince myself not to; I didn’t want to lose any of the trust Black Noir had for me. Instead, I simply knocked a few more times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there anything I can do?” I asked through the door. I was met with no response, although the commotion inside seemed to have stopped. I could hear Black Noir walk closer to the door, almost as if he was debating opening it. However, instead of opening it, I could hear him simply slide down to the ground, his breathing rapid, which turned into a sob a second later. I slowly slid myself down to the floor till I was leaning up against the door. “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him. Again, silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few more minutes passed before I heard anything more through the door other than the occasional sob. Eventually, I could hear him stand back up before I heard the sound of his shower turn on. I sighed, so much for talking. I stood myself up and went over to the kitchen, figuring I could at least make some tea for him on the off chance he would come back out of his room to get it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was just adding sugar to the tea, a scoop and a half, just how he liked it when his door swung open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” I said, voice soft. I looked over at Black Noir, who now was in a different one of his suits, this one lacking all the blood and bullets from what he had come home in. “I made you some tea,” I said, carrying out the mug to where he was. Only, he was headed towards the door, his shoulders tense again. “Noir?” I asked. He didn’t even look back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I frowned, looking down at the tea in my hands. With a sigh, I set it back down on the counter, wondering what possibly could have happened that had made him so upset and what I could do to help. Not that I could do anything while he was gone.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carefully, I walked over to his room, the door still a crack open, and I peered inside. It was a disaster. I’d only ever seen inside the room a handful of times since I moved in. Usually, he kept this room the cleanest in the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without realizing what I was doing, I had begun to clean up. Carefully picking up the furniture, putting everything back on the shelves. Before I knew it, I was sweeping up the broken glass and assessing the damage done to the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time I had finished making the room look semi-decent again, the sun was already on the rise. I sat on the edge of Black Noir’s bed, looking around at the room. I still had no idea what must’ve happened when he got called into work, but it had to have been something for this to happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I pulled out my phone, daring to check the news to see if there was a hint of what might’ve happened had it have been big enough to make it there that quickly. I noticed a story about police investigating a gunfight that broke out in a home about an hour before Black Noir was back here. I clicked on the still-developing story and saw that the police had already confirmed three dead. Two adults and a kid. That couldn’t be related. Could it? The timing fit, but Vaught wouldn’t; Noir </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t. Right…?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sighed again, turning off my phone and lying back on the bed, pushing away any thoughts of those events being related to my brother. As I did, I began to realize just how tired I was, being awake since two A.M and all. I thought about making my way back to my room, to my own bed, but the second I had shut my eyes, I had fallen asleep right there in Black Noir’s room.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I woke up back in my own bed. For a brief second, I had completely forgotten what had happened the night before. When I did, I sprung up in my bed, mad at myself for not waking up whenever Black Noir got home. I quickly threw on a sweatshirt and cracked the door to my room. I could smell eggs emitting from the kitchen, so I crept over, seeing Black Noir by the stove. He must’ve heard me walk in and glanced up at me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I opened my mouth to speak but quickly shut it again, not sure of what to say. Black Noir said nothing either; he just grabbed a plate and held it out to me. I bit my bottom lip, still trying to think of what to say, but still had no idea how to even begin to talk about the night before. Instead, I grabbed the plate, offering a small nod as a thanks, and sat down at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir dished some eggs for himself and sat down across from me. I dug my fork around my plate, absentmindedly poking the eggs. I briefly glanced up at Noir, wondering if he would start to talk, but he met my gaze and tilted his head. I sighed and took a bite of my eggs. Part of me was hoping that I would be able to stay quiet long enough that he would have no choice but to talk first, but after two minutes, I found the silence unbearable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are we going to talk about it?” I asked, not looking up from my eggs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am fine,” Black Noir quickly replied. Now I looked up at him, eyebrows raised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think there are about half a dozen holes in your bedroom walls that beg to differ,” I pointed out. Black Noir said nothing. “You can talk to me, you know that, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am fine,” he repeated. I found myself biting my lip, wanting to say more. Instead, I sighed, taking another bite of my food and pulling out my phone, hoping to distract myself with some pointless game. However, the screen that popped back up was the news story that I had been reading the night before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The story had since been updated since early this morning as more details had come to light. A sick feeling began to bubble in my stomach as I read the updates. Police had confirmed that the assailant had indeed been shot, as the family tried to defend themselves. About two hours after the incident, two members of The Seven, Homelander and Black Noir, showed up to ‘help investigate.’ And, to top it all off, the family had been in the midst of a legal battle with Vaught.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked back up at Black Noir, recalling the bullet holes that had been in his suit last night, the blood on his gloves. I needed to know. Gently, I set my phone down on the table, leaving the screen turned on, and I slowly slid it over towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t suppose you know anything about that?” I asked, feeling only slightly guilty for continuing the conversation he so clearly wanted to avoid. Black Noir looked down at my phone then back over at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” he started but cut himself off. He set his fork down beside his plate and sighed. “It is not what you think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you didn’t kill that family? The seven-year-old?” Black Noir looked down at the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The kid was not supposed to be there,” he said quietly. My mouth fell open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I said under my breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can explain.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’ve explained enough,” I said, standing up. I felt like I was going to throw up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not my fault,” Black Noir said, standing up as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How the fuck is it not your fault?!” I shouted. “You didn’t have to-” I cut myself off, shaking my head. “I have to go,” I said, turning away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley, wait,” Black Noir said, grabbing my wrist. I looked at him, bewildered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t. Touch me.” I pulled my arm back. Black Noir looked down at his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did not mean… I’m sorry…” his voice was quiet. I shook my head. “Please, just let me explain.” I folded my arms in front of my chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is there to explain?” I asked, voice still loud, angry. I looked back up at him, waiting for an answer. I watched as he walked himself over to the living room, sitting down on the couch. For a brief moment, he put his head in his hands. I walked over to him, cautiously. A moment later, Black Noir sighed and reached to his helmet, slowly pulling it and the cloth underneath it off of his head. “Noir?” I asked, my voice now much softer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” he said again, cutting himself off with a sigh. He put a hand to the back of his head, motioning for me to come over to look. I felt my mouth fall open again as I looked at the back of his head. Embedded in the back of his skull was a small black panel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha-?” I started, gently hovering my hand above it, watching the lights flicker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vaught,” Black Noir explained, not turning around to look at me. “I was eleven.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s… They…” I could tell he was struggling to find the words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” I said. “Take your time.” Black Noir nodded; a second later, he motioned for me to come to sit down with him, though when I did, he looked the other way so I couldn’t see the entirety of his face. He took a deep breath, almost as if he was trying to compose himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They wired my brain,” he finally said. He put a hand on the back of his head, on the device. “Takes over my consciousness.” Black Noir took another deep breath. “When Vaught sends me an order…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have control,” I finished for him. Black Noir nodded sadly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is like I am in the backseat of a car. Watching someone else drive,” he said, his voice starting to crack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noir…” I started. He shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he said, looking back over at me. I tilted my head. “I should have told you.” Now I shook my head, and for the first time since meeting him, I was able to look my brother right in the eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. I’m sorry too,” I said, offering him a small smile. Black Noir nodded and looked back down at his helmet. It fell silent for a moment between us. “D-does it hurt?” I asked a second later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” he replied, still looking down at his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you even want to join The Seven?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had no choice,” he muttered. I frowned; I was beginning to realize the gravity of the situation he was in. Everything was starting to make sense, why he never wanted to talk about his job, why he didn’t want Vaught to find out about me, why he didn’t talk to anyone but me, and so much more. I noticed that the feeling in my stomach had begun to turn into anger. I knew Vaught was up to some fucked up shit, but this? Fucking mind control?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do we stop them?” I finally asked, wanting to do something to help him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t.” I opened my mouth to add more, but Noir went on. “I’ve tried. I am just lucky they give me every other day to be…” he trailed off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yourself?” I asked, finishing the sentence. He nodded. “Do the others… Homelander and them, do they know?” Black Noir shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just two others. The ones who…” he trailed off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, good thing I’m here now,” I said. Now Black Noir tilted his head. “Well, you’ve never had help before.” As I said this, I saw Black Noir grin slightly. “N-not that I know how to fight or anything… But I’m smart!” This made Black Noir chuckle slightly. “Y’know,” I went on a second later. “It would be cool to learn how to fight, to use my powers and stuff, but I would need a pretty good teacher…” I offered a grin to Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you asking me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm? No, I was hoping you could put in a word with Queen Maeve…” I saw Black Noir’s eyes go wide, and I laughed. “Kidding! Sorry, that was a joke. Of course, I was asking you. I-if you wanted.” He smiled again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It would be an honour, Riley,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I smiled again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have time to watch a show before you need to leave?” I asked, changing the subject. “I recorded the new Property Brothers last night since you weren’t here!” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Asking Black Noir to train me may have been a bad idea. Not in the sense that he wasn’t a good teacher or anything; I was just simply exhausted. It didn’t help that I was very much not in shape when we started. Doing nothing but sitting on a couch playing video games for a couple months tends to do that to you, I guess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, we started with that. Black Noir left me with a list of stuff to do while he was gone. It included everything from a list of exercises to a super cringy exercise video from the nineties. However, I didn’t mind. It was nice having something to do again, a goal to work towards. And, since I had never really used any of my abilities to the full extent, my parents would always punish me for using them; it was quite fun seeing what I was able to do once I was in shape enough to do it. Just the other night, I had surprised Black Noir by showing him how easily I could lift the fridge!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When I wasn’t training, I was researching. Trying to figure out the science behind what Vaught had done to my brother, trying to figure out how to fix it. Not that I was getting anywhere, but I was hoping that if I could gain an understanding of what it was, maybe I would be able to find a solution, to figure out how to turn it off, or something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We didn’t really talk about it much after that one morning. He usually would answer some of my questions if I asked them, but I tried not to. It was pretty clear the topic made him uncomfortable, sad even. He had told me about how it had happened. Apparently, Vaught has a thing for experimenting on super-abled children, and after his mom had died, Vaught “adopted” him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From what else I had gathered, I learnt that the person behind all of the orders given to him went by the name of Mr. Edgar. One of the high ups in Vaught. The only other person that knew was Madelyn Stillwell, an executive at Vaught. I could tell from the way he spat out their names that Black Noir wanted nothing more than to put a knife in between their eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that he could. If Noir was to ever step out of line when he was in control of himself, they would simply not give him that option. Apparently, it had taken a lot for Black Noir to even get every other night to himself. Sometimes they would let him be in control at work, for some PR events or group meetings or whatever, all of which he hated as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It also became clear that I was the only person he would talk to. He mentioned that he was physically unable to talk when Vaught was in control, so they demanded that he remain silent everywhere else to not confuse people. He hadn’t spoken a single word in years until he met me, which was why it took him so long to say anything. I guess he had been practicing when I wasn’t around to build back up his vocal cords.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were well into February when Black Noir decided to mix up our training routine. Being confined to the house made it hard to do that much. Especially once lifting both the fridge and the stove simultaneously wasn’t a challenge to me anymore. So one morning, he came and woke me up before the sun had even thought about rising. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh,” I groaned, rolling over in my bed. “What time is it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Four.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the morning?!” Instead of answering, Black Noir ripped my blankets off of me, tossing them to the ground. “Why?!” I complained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go,” he demanded. With a sigh, I got myself out of bed and changed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eye. Again, Black Noir didn’t answer. He simply cracked open the window to the fire escape and hopped out. “It’s too early for this,” I muttered, hopping out the window to follow him. I met him on the ground and folded my arms, eyebrows raised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Try to keep up,” he said. I could hear the smirk in his voice as he took off, full speed, down the dark alley. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, c’mon!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. I groaned again before throwing myself into a jog. Although it quickly became clear that Noir wasn’t going to be taking it easy on me and already had quite the lead. I forgot how fucking fast he was. I tried to pick up my pace to keep up with him, but with every step I took, he seemed to move a hundred. I looked down at my wrists as I sprinted, grinning as an idea formed in my brain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I shot a web out of my right wrist, sticking it to the corner of one of the buildings, letting myself swing with it. Once I was in the air, I used my left wrist to stick to another, launching myself forward more. I shot another from my right, now gaining even more speed. A laugh escaped my lips as I got another swing; this was fun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that I was moving, I was able to spot Black Noir again. From above him, I could see him spin around to look for me behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up here!” I exclaimed. Noir’s gaze shifted upwards, seeing me. I saw him shake his head, but he kept moving. Although, now it did look like he was going even faster. I laughed again as I kept following, now able to keep up slightly better; after all, I was still a little wobbly trying to figure out this whole swinging thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir ended up leading me to a trainyard. There were a few scattered throughout the city, some I was even familiar with from having been living out in the streets. They were generally empty during the nights, and I suppose as well as four in the morning. I actually ended up losing Black Noir as we entered the trainyard, me no longer having any tall buildings to swing myself off of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My senses told me that he was definitely in the area, he was just hiding from me, but I was so out of breath from running that I couldn’t focus them. I tried my best to creep around, wondering if I would be able to find him first when I heard the sound of someone behind me. I spun around just in time to see Black Noir leaping off of one of the train carts, practically right on top of me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” I huffed, now putting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I was an enemy, I would have killed you by now,” Black Noir said. I briefly looked up at him, raising my eyebrows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“W-were you wanting me to fight you?” I asked, between breaths. He shrugged, and I laughed a little. “But did you see me swinging?! I mean, I knew I could do that, but I never, not like that!” Black Noir nodded. I took another breath and rubbed my wrists, trying to ease the pain from using my webs. Black Noir noticed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does it hurt?” he asked. I nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They, uh, they never really healed right after…” I trailed off; he knew what I meant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps with more practice that will improve,” he suggested. I shrugged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or I just shouldn’t-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your abilities are a gift, Riley,” Black Noir said. I grinned slightly, nodding my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are the chances that both of us would get powers?” I asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do not know. But we are lucky.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even after everything that’s happened, you still see yourself as lucky?” As I said that, I realize how it may have sounded. “I’m sorry, that was-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do. Not everyone can do the things I do. And sometimes they do let me help people.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess you do, hey?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am thankful for my powers, every life I help,” he said. I smiled again. I hadn’t thought about any of that from that perspective. “Now,” Black Noir went on. “Go lift that car.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As the weeks went on, I was slowly getting better and better at using my abilities. Not that I could beat Black Noir in a fight or anything, but I had been lasting a lot longer when we would spar. Or, on our races to the trainyard, there had been a few times where I had beat him there; I was really getting the hang of using my webs to move. It was a lot of fun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every Friday or Saturday, whichever Black Noir got off, had become movie night. After spending every other night he was home training, I had to convince him to let us take a night off to relax and hang out. And then, once I had found out he had never seen any of the Star Wars movies, I demanded we get a bunch of junk food, order pizza and watch a film like a normal family would. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I knew that our 'normal' state of living wouldn't last forever. God knew with my brother, things would never be normal, and I kept waiting for the next crazy thing to happen that would change how we operated. I just hadn't thought it would be so soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was just walking back through the front door of the apartment, bag of candy in my hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Noir!" I called out to Noir, who I knew would be home by now. "So, they were all out of those sour starbursts you like, so instead, I got some sour-" I looked up as I walked into the living room. Noticing Black Noir wasn't the only one there. My mouth fell open slightly. "Skittles…" I finished, looking between every single member of The Seven, all of which were looking at me. I felt myself gulp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why, hello!" Homelander was the first to speak up. I didn't dare move a muscle, my mind going numb. This wasn't happening. Was it? Homelander, and the rest of The Seven, for that matter, looked between Black Noir and me. "Who might you be?" Homelander asked, looking back at me, a giant smile on his face. It terrified me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I…" I started, but no more words came out of my mouth. All I felt was a sense of panic. My eyes darted between everyone in the room. Not only was every single fucking member of The Seven in my living room, so was the woman I recognized to be Madelyn Stillwell. Shit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you know Black Noir?" Stillwell asked, looking at me. I gulped again. I looked over at Noir, noticing he had his left thumb tucked under his fingers, a small sign for me showing that he was in control of himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I..." I said again, still looking at Noir. I saw him slowly nod. A nod so small that only I could see it. "Y-yeah," I stuttered out. Now everyone's head turned towards Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Noir, you know this…" Homelander looked back at me. "Child?" This time, Black Noir nodded so that everyone could see, just once. Now they all looked back at me. I forced a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I didn't think Noir had friends," A-Train muttered. The others glared at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How do you know each other?" Stillwell went on, her voice sounded genuine, but I could sense the true meaning of her tone. She was one of the people that knew what Vaught was doing to Noir, no doubt loved to profit from it. This woman could ruin my life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm, uh," I rubbed the back of my neck. I looked back at Black Noir, somehow hoping he would give me a cue, tell me what to say, something. He caught my gaze and very slowly nodded again. I took a deep breath. "He's, uh, m-my brother." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Your what?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Brother?!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, what?" Were just a few of the remarks I caught, all of The Seven reacting at the same time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, tech-technically half-brother," I stuttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Noir!" Homelander was the next to speak. As he did, he put a hand down on Black Noir's shoulder. "How come you didn't tell us you had a…" Homelander looked at me again. I could feel him looking me up and down. "A brother…?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sibling," I corrected out of instinct. I could see Homelander's eyes narrow. "I, uh, am non-binary." The look did not change. "No gender. T-they and them pronouns." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right," Homelander smacked his lips and then looked back at Noir, who obviously said nothing.     </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do your parents know you're here?" Stillwell interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Um," I felt myself gulp again. "Y-yeah." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Kids’ a terrible liar," Queen Maeve spoke up with a smirk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I'm just visiting." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Also, a lie!" Another voice spoke up, this time coming from my room. But there was nothing there. "Full wardrobe in there," the voice went on. I watched the door to my room swing open. Fucking Translucent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You live here?" Stillwell pressed. I ran my hand through my hair, nodding once. "Legally?" she asked, even though I knew she already knew the answer. She was just trying to let the rest of them know. I was so fucked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My parents-" I started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Are looking for you?" Homelander interrupted. I glanced back over at Black Noir, noticing he had taken a step forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Look…" Stillwell started looking at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley," I quickly filled in her blank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley. We at Vaught can't have a missing child living illegally with a member of-" Before she could finish her sentence, Black Noir had moved into action. Quickly placing himself between me and the rest of The Seven and Stillwell, a hand on one of his blades, the other keeping me behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Noir," I started, speaking softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Woah there!" Homelander said, putting his hands out in front of him. He took a step closer towards us, causing Noir to pull out the knife. I shook my head, putting a hand on Noir's, forcing him to lower the blade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Noir," I said again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm confused," The Deep said suddenly, despite the amount of tension in the room. This caused all heads to turn to him, and off of Noir. Noir looked back at me at this moment, and I shook my head, trying to tell him to put the knife away. I glanced over to Stillwell and saw her hand on her phone. Sure she couldn't be the one to activate Noir's panel, but she sure as hell could call the guy that could.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My parents abuse me," I said quickly, hoping that if I explained fast enough, something terrible could be avoided. "Noir's been keeping me safe." I sighed a little in relief, watching Stillwell put her phone down and Noir his knife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Now why would they do that?" Stillwell asked, placing her hands on her hips. Noir spun his head again to look at me. Despite the mask and helmet, I could see his worry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's okay," I told him. I looked back at the others. "They, uh, I'm a, I have powers. A-and they didn't l-like them and would do all sorts of things to try and get rid of them, or they would hurt me whenever I would use any of them and…" I trailed off, trying to gauge the reactions of The Seven. "I was worried they were going to kill me." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're a supe?" Homelander asked. I nodded. "Why didn't you fight back?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's not the kids' fault," Maeve interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please don't send me back," I said, looking between them. Noir, who was still in front of me, reached back and grabbed my arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tell them if you go, I go," Black Noir whispered in my ear so that only I could hear. I laughed a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, you're not doing that," I told him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"D-did he just talk to you?" The Deep spoke up. My eyes went wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-yeah." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You can talk?" Homelander asked, looking at Black Noir. I could feel Stillwell’s gaze on me. She knew that I knew about Noir. She had to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He, uh," I started, trying to think of a good reason for this situation. "He only talks to family members." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How does that work?" Lamplighter spoke up. I rubbed the back of my neck. Stillwell had her eyebrows raised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"W-well," I started, trying to remember what lies the public knew about Black Noir. "Well, the, uh, the guy who trained him was a monk. And, some monks take vows of silence, right?" I received a few nods. "So, it's like that only this type of monk, the uh," I scratched my head again. "It's hard to pronounce, but they believe that not speaking to family is disrespectful because blood relationships are, uh, more important?" They all stared at me. "Black Noir explains it better," I quickly added. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Huh," Homelander said, placing his hands on his hips. "The more you know," he grinned. I forced a smile as well. He then turned to look at Stillwell. "We can't send this kid back to its parents." Did he just call me it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" Stillwell started, but Homelander kept going. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They fucking abused the kid for being a supe! They deserve to get locked up for that!" I squinted my eyes a little. Was Homelander, of all people, standing up for me? After he had finished, I could hear Stillwell sigh before she looked back over at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Be at the tower at nine A.M," she said. "Both of you. We'll discuss how this would work." I felt myself grinning again, this time genuine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"T-thank you!" I exclaimed. I looked back at Noir. "He also says thank you." Stillwell nodded; I could tell her smile was forced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We'll see you tomorrow." She began to walk towards the door before looking back at the other members of The Seven, none of which had moved. She cleared her throat, and a few of them sprung into action, feeling to be at her beck and call. Homelander was last to follow, giving me a pat on the shoulder before heading out, flashing another smile at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the door closed, Black Noir looked over at me. I could tell he was about to say something, but I held a finger up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"The invisible guy," I quickly said, spinning around. "He's still here." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have a name, you know," his voice called out. "How did you know I'm here?" I shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Part of my powers." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right," he said, drawing out the world. "I guess I'll go then." And without making himself visible, he made his exit. Now I looked at Noir,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What the fuck just happened?!" </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I was nervous. I only got about three hours of sleep the night before. Not even consecutively. I wasn't even sure if Black Noir slept at all. After everyone had left that night, we spent the next few hours just staring at his phone, wondering if they were going to call, to give him an order that would ruin it all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The call never came. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After I had gone to bed, I could hear Noir pacing around the living room every time I woke up. He was just as nervous as I was. That did not make me feel any better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We made it to Vaught tower at 8:50. It would've been 8:45, but I had a very big debate with myself over what to wear. I settled for a nice pair of black pants and a simple light red button-up t-shirt. I didn't want to go making any wrong impressions; I was representing Black Noir in some weird way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When we walked into the tower, we were quickly whisked away by someone with a clipboard, who only said good morning to Black Noir as they led us to an elevator. I felt a line of sweat forming on the back of my neck, my breathing getting quicker. Noir noticed and placed a hand on my shoulder for the elevator ride's duration, which felt like it lasted for hours. Why is the building so fucking tall?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once out of the elevator, we were led down a hallway filled with sculpted busts of each member of The Seven. We walked past Noir's, and I playfully nudged him, pointing towards it. Though I couldn't see, I could tell that behind the mask, he rolled his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We were brought into Stillwell's office. She was already there, along with the man who I assumed to be Mr. Edgar. Both of them were sitting behind her desk, looking as if they had been waiting for us, despite our early arrival. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Goodmorning!" Stillwell exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"H-hi," I stuttered, cursing myself for stumbling over the word. The woman smiled at me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, this is Mr. Edgar, the CEO here at Vaught," she explained. I felt myself gulp. The man reached his hand out, which I then awkwardly shook. "Please, sit down." I nodded, anxiously looking over at Black Noir. He sat down, so I followed suit, both of us on the other side of the desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So, Riley," Mr. Edgar started, folding his hands in front of him. "Quite the situation you have found yourself in." I remained silent, not sure of what to say, partly afraid to say anything. "I don't have much time this morning, so I would like to make this meeting quick. We here at Vaught are prepared to aid Black Noir in a legal battle to gain full custody of you." My eyes went wide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"R-really?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But, there is one issue we need to discuss," he said. I nodded once. "It is my understanding that you are aware of Black Noir's… condition." Nervously, I looked over to Black Noir. He nodded once. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I started but got cut off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"For this to work, it is crucial that no one else ever finds out this information. Or, that you do not make any attempt to interfere with any of our work here at Vaught." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"O-of course! I would never even think-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If you, or Black Noir, for that matter, fail to comply, we will have no choice but to have our best assassin deal with you, which conveniently is Black Noir himself." I felt my mouth fall open slightly, a sick feeling in my stomach. "Do you understand?" Mr. Edgar asked. I nodded a few times. "I need verbal confirmation." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I understand," I stuttered. "T-thank you," I added. Mr. Edgar smiled,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It is my pleasure." And with that, the man stood up and walked out of the room. I barely had any time to process before Stillwell started talking again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Now, Riley, that story you told about why Black Noir talks to you was a bit weak. But, it's a little too late to take it back, so I am going to need you to use it again when they ask you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"When who asks me?" Stillwell didn't answer; she went right to hit a button on her phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ashley, you all can come in now," she spoke into the intercom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, what's-" The door to Stillwells swung open again, and five more people walked in. At the front was a woman with reddish hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley!" she exclaimed. "It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>great to meet you. My name is Ashley, and I am head of PR here at Vaught. We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>excited to work with you!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Public relations-?" I started to ask but got interrupted again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This is Seth and Evan; they are two of our writers," Ashley went on, introducing the people behind her. "And here is Doug Friedman and Sophie Phillips. They will be representing you and Black Noir in court." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"L-lawyers?" I tried to ask again, but the conversation did not wait for me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, you could not have shown up at a better time for us," Ashley kept talking. "Vaught, in general, has been going down in points with the LGBT community and could really use the boost. Not to mention Black Noir is never usually in the spotlight, so this is going to be really good for him." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, I'm confused," I spoke up, looking nervously at all of the people in the room. "Y-you're using me for… PR?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Of course!" Ashley exclaimed, putting a hand on my shoulder. "A heartwarming story of a brother adopting his transgender sibling and saving them from abuse? The people will love it!" My mouth fell open slightly; she couldn't be serious. "And," Ashley went on, "The fact that it's Black Noir is going to hit big. I'm talking point boosts in all categories!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't-" I started, before catching the gaze of Stillwell. She raised her eyebrows at me, and the pit in my stomach grew. I had no choice but to accept this. "O-okay, sure. If it'll help, Noir…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And then," Ashley continued. "You're going to love this. Seth and Evan here have been given the task of writing the new Black Noir movie!" At this, Black Noir and I looked at each other; he looked just as surprised as I did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I didn't think Black Noir was getting a solo movie…" I started, clearly speaking for both of us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Neither did we," Seth, or maybe Evan, I couldn't figure out who was who, said. "It didn't seem possible to write a movie with a main character who doesn't talk."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But," Evan or Seth continued, "With Black Noir having a sibling who can and is deeply connected to him, more possibilities arise." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You want to make me a character in a movie?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Listen to this," the other went on, looking at all of us. "We open on a dark alley, Black Noir, he's looking for something. No, someone, and is willing to take down anyone who stands in his way. Who is it?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Turns out Black Noir has a brother!" the other piped up. I opened my mouth to speak, but they seemed to be on a roll. "We're thinking one of the kids from Stranger Things would be perfect for the role, now Black Noir's brother becomes the narrator for the film after Black Noir saves him from an abusive household."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"The two of them, in an effort to save his brother, run into some big trouble. It's just them against the world, but Black Noir is the best-trained ninja the world has ever seen. Nothing will stop him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It'll be called Black Noir." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Insurgence," they both finished at the same time. Both Ashley and Stillwell started clapping, while Black Noir and I just looked at each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, we just need you to sign off the rights to your character and name," Ashley said, sliding over a piece of paper. I blinked a few times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No," I whispered before realizing I had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, what?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Black Noir doesn't have a brother," I said louder. "Or a sister."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, yes," Ashley jumped in. "But, statistically speaking, the movie will reach a much broader audience if-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Didn't you just say that me being trans was going to 'hit big?'" I interrupted her. Everyone in the room stared at me. I gulped again, trying to decide if this was the hill I wanted to die on. I forced myself to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I just, don't you think that having an actual non-binary character would create more of an audience for the movie? I mean, you just said you need more support for Vaught from the LGBT community, cause let's be real, your believe expos aren't doing anything for that, and if you are going live with the story of real me being enby and adopted by Noir why can't movie me be?" I hadn't meant to say that much, but it just kind of all came out. I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck, looking at the others in the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That. Was. Incredible," Seth or Evan finally said, breaking the silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What?" I asked, feeling confused again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That is exactly the attitude we need this character to have!" he went on, looking to the other writer. "Screw the Stranger Things kids, Riley. I think you would be perfect for the role!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I started, looking over at Black Noir. He looked just as confused as I. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What do you say?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"W-would I be able to be non-binary?" I asked. The two writers looked to Stillwell. Stillwell looked at Ashley. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They do have a point about the numbers," Ashley said. "The last time a movie came out with a gay couple in it, it got so much media attention that it was in the headlines for a month." Stillwell looked back at the two writers and nodded. The two writers then looked back at me. I looked at Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What do you think? The two of us on a movie set?" I asked him, trying to sound excited. Black Noir, of course, didn't say anything. I looked back at the writers. "Alright, I'm in." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next three hours Black Noir and I were trapped in that same office. After we made the writers happy, the lawyers started their business. They did their best to explain to me what was going to be happening with 'my case,' but they didn't seem to care enough to answer questions when I had them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From what I gathered, Vaught was fully prepared to take my parents to court. They believed I had a strong case, and once that was out of the way, it would be a 'piece of cake' for Black Noir to become my legal guardian. It also meant that we were going to have to live at the tower now, something Stillwell made sure I understood. Apparently, I was also going back to school as soon as possible. Something about it making a custody case easier: they gave me the appropriate paperwork for Black Noir and me to enroll. Black Noir gave me a thumbs up at that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time they let us go, I was exhausted. In order for the lawyers to build the case, they needed me to account for every single detail, I could remember about what my parents had done to me. It was a lot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for staying with me during that," I said to Noir once they let us break for lunch. We were walking towards his room in the tower. "I don't know how I'm supposed to face them in court." Black Noir put a hand on my shoulder. "Can we go find some food now?" I asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir looked as if he was about to say something when his phone buzzed. He looked down at his phone and sighed, holding the screen around to show me. It was an alert saying there was a team meeting in the boardroom. Under it was a text telling him to 'bring the kid.'</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do I have to?" I pouted. He nodded and turned around, motioning for me to follow. We made our way down a set of hallways, past a giant statue of each member of The Seven, and into the boardroom. The rest of The Seven appeared to have beaten us, and all heads turned to us when Black Noir opened the large automatic doors. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They there are!" Homelander exclaimed, a giant grin on his face. "How'd the meetings go?" he asked, walking up to us and putting a hand on my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh, g-good, I think," I stuttered, feeling uncomfortable again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Great news! Please, come sit!" he went on, going to sit down at the head of the giant V-shaped table. I glanced over at Black Noir, wanting to follow his lead. There was only one empty chair left, so Black Noir rolled it out and motioned for me to take it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-you can sit," I told him. "It's your seat." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, nonsense! Here," Homelander exclaimed, standing up again. "Deep. Give the kid your chair." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But I-" The Deep started. "O-of course!" He stood up and rolled his chair across the room to me. I muttered an awkward thank you as he walked back around to his side of the table. I sat down, keeping the chair as close to Black Noir as possible, feeling the gaze of every other supe in the room on me. Now that everyone was seated, aside from The Deep, Homelander folded his hands on the table,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So Riley, is it?" he asked. I nodded, feeling nervous again. "It sounds like you are going to be staying here with us!" Again, I nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"H-hopefully," I stuttered. "If the, uh, the court case goes well…" I trailed off, noticing a glare being sent my way from Queen Maeve. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have no worries there!" Homelander went on, not seeming to notice the others in the room. "Now, I think, since you'll be staying here, it's important that we all get to know you a little bit! Don't you think?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I guess so," I said. Homelander smiled again. "W-what would you like to know?" I asked, nervously fiddling with the sleeve of my shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're a supe, right?" A-Train spoke up. Homelander glared at him. I guess that was the question he was going to bring up. I nodded in response, gazing down at the ground. "What can you do?" he asked, clearly not getting the memo from Homelander's glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I, uh," I started. I looked over at Noir as if he would somehow jump in and help me. I sighed. "It's kind of silly… But they're like… spider powers?" I sputtered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What the hell does that mean?" Translucent asked. I rubbed the back of my neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, you know… F-faster reflexes, I'm pretty strong, I guess…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How is that like a spider?" Lamplighter interrupted me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I also, uh," I looked around at the faces of the other members of The Seven, all of them clearly looking annoyed by my presence. Other than maybe Deep, who had been staring at one of the TVs off to the side of the room. "I'm sticky," I said, trying to force myself to sound more confident. "And I can shoot webs." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, you're sticky?" A-Train laughed. I nodded, feeling a little embarrassed again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Can you demonstrate?" Homelander interrupted. I scratched the back of my head again, looking around the room. Again, I looked at Black Noir, who nodded a few times. He pointed towards one of the giant pillars in the room that led up to the high ceiling. He wanted me to climb them. I carefully stood up and walked over to one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The members of The Seven watched me curiously as I began to scale it. At that moment, I was thankful that I had been practicing and made my way to the very top. I then decided to show off, just a little. I kept crawling once I was on the ceiling, walking onto the giant mural of The Seven and letting myself dangle by my feet. Black Noir gave me a thumbs up while the rest of The Seven looked at me, slightly in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not what I imagined when you said sticky," A-Train muttered. Homelander clapped a few times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Very impressive!" he exclaimed. I smiled a little bit, feeling a little more confident with myself. I then took that as my cue and put my hands back on the roof, letting myself dangle like that before letting go and landing in the middle of the room, feet first. "And webs?" Homelander went on to ask. I nodded again, motioning to one of my wrists. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't really know how they work, but uh, a normal spider web is about five times as strong as steel, and I mean, I'm a lot bigger than a spider." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So what, you hit people with them?" Queen Maeve asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sometimes. I mean, they don't kill anyone or anything, but they're good at holding them down." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Show us," Homelander said. It sounded more like a demand than an ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I don't know, I don't want to web you…"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh! I'll do it!" The Deep exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's the spirit Deep!" Homelander smiled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay…" I muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No need to go easy on me!" Deep said with a laugh. I looked over at Black Noir, who shrugged. I grinned slightly as I looked down at my wrists and then to Deep, slightly forgetting how much I had improved with my webs over the past few weeks, and fired. The web's impact launched The Deep backwards and into the wall behind him, then stuck to the wall, leaving him hanging. Some of the others began to laugh. Even Noir looked like he was suppressing a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>'S-sorry," I muttered but was cut off by Homelander. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Very impressive!" he exclaimed. "Noir, you have a very talented sibling! Why would your parents ever want to get rid of that?" I looked down at the ground, not sure how to respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, uh," The Deep spoke up, "How do I get down?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think you are going to love the gym we have here," Homelander went on, ignoring Deep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Guys?" Deep asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"C'mon. We'll show you!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right now?" I asked. Homelander nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It'll be fun!" He began to walk out of the room, and I realized I had to follow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, guys?!" The Deep yelled again, but the giant doors had closed behind us, leaving him stuck on the wall.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>By the time the evening rolled around, I was more than exhausted. The afternoon was spent with various members of The Seven, offering me tours of different places in the tower, each of whom I had to make small talk with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I just don't understand why they are all so interested in me," I complained from Black Noir's couch. His apartment in the tower was a lot nicer than where I had been staying. The rooms were larger. The kitchen had way fancier gadgets. There was even a fireplace in the living room under the giant flatscreen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think they are more interested in how you are connected to me," Black Noir said, sitting down beside me. I could tell he was tired as well. "None of them know anything about me," he went on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Are you implying that they are all going to want to be my friend as a way to be your friend?" I asked. Black Noir shrugged. "And I have to be nice to them?" The look Black Noir gave me told me enough. I crossed my arms. "Fine. That doesn't mean I'm going to like them, though." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You and me both," Black Noir huffed. I chuckled a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, there are no cameras in here, right?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous again. Black Noir shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Everywhere else in the tower," he explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, at least they respect your privacy," I muttered, causing Black Noir to laugh slightly, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Just stay aware of Translucent. And Homelander." I nodded, well aware of Homelander's ability to see through walls and shit. I was about to say more when Black Noir's phone started ringing. By now, I could tell by the ringtone when it was going to be a call giving Noir an order. Noir grabbed his phone on the table. "Tomorrow morning," he said before answering. "We'll train in the gym here." I offered him a small smile. The thought of training in that gym where everyone could see me was a little daunting, but it was a really nice fucking gym.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Good luck," I said to him before he answered. As he did, I watched his shoulders tense up, a clear sign to me that he was no longer at the wheel. I sighed as he walked out the door, wondering what I was going to do. The thought of wandering around the tower by myself seemed very scary; the last thing I wanted tonight was another conversation with any of The Seven. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I decided to turn on the T.V, wanting to find something to watch to distract myself, maybe even put me to sleep. However, it was playing the news when I turned it on, which was playing a story about Black Noir and his mysterious sibling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Already?!" I exclaimed to myself. From what I had gathered today, they said they were going to put the story of the court case out soon. I didn't think today was soon. Luckily, since I was a minor, my name wasn't on the news, but that didn't seem to stop the sharing of details of my parents, even playing a clip of them being led out of their house in handcuffs. I wasn't sure how the lawyers got that much evidence to actually arrest them for child abuse, but I didn't mind watching them get shoved into the back of a cop car. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The news then started moving to questions about who I could be and what my powers were, and I quickly decided to turn the T.V off. I felt the nerves begin to bubble again in my stomach; the idea of all these things happening so quickly was a little overwhelming. I just wanted things to be somewhat normal. Why did they have to make Black Noir go away tonight? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I glanced over to the kitchen table, at the pile of paperwork sitting on top. We had gone through most of it by now, part of the reason I was so tired. The only thing I had left to do was figure out my schooling situation. The lawyers had said it was up to me what high school I wanted to attend, but then gave me a very short list of choices. I wandered over to the table to grab the list, then sat back down on the couch with my laptop, typing the first name into the search bar; going to school was probably the best way to make things somewhat normal again. It also was enough to put me to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir had us down in the gym at 5:30 that morning, although he had only gotten home at 2:00. I did my best not to complain; I considered myself lucky that Noir still wanted to teach me how to fight. Given that our schedules were about to get a lot busier, I wanted to take any time I could get with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gym was set up with all sorts of little platforms scattered around, giving me plenty of space to crawl around on, great for practicing jumps and whatnot. We spent a good half hour just goofing off, me challenging Noir to different parkour stunts, most of which he did without breaking a sweat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time we finished training, it was nearly 8:00. Black Noir had just knocked me to my ass again after sparring and went over to get a drink of water when I heard a third voice in the room with us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That wasn't so bad," Queen Maeve said. She was standing in the doorway, arms folded in front of her. How long had she been there? "I was starting to think maybe you would win that," she said, walking up to me, offering a hand to help me stand back up. I grinned a little, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't think that will ever happen," I chuckled, looking over at my brother. He nodded, agreeing with me. Maeve grinned a little at this as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think I've only beaten you once, hey Noir?" Maeve asked, still with a grin. Black Noir looked over at her, then he walked up to me, leaning down so he could whisper in my ear. I laughed. "What'd he say?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He says you cheated," I chuckled. Maeve shook her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Got time for a rematch then?" she asked, putting her fists up in front of her. Black Noir shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I believe that means we have to go," I sighed. I looked over at the clock. "I have to go enroll in high school today," I explained with another sigh. Queen Maeve raised her eyebrows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fun," she said. "Well, see you around then." I offered her a wave, and Black Noir and I took off. I phoned the school I had picked, opting for the one closest to the tower so I could avoid taking transit, to make sure that they would be able to enroll me; leaving out the part about who my legal guardian was as I had assumed I would be able to do it on my own. However, after explaining the lawyers' weird paperwork, they insisted that whoever was going to have custody of me come to sign some forms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I explained this to Black Noir and then the lawyers I had seen the day before, hoping that maybe one of them could come instead of Noir. They said they were too busy, and since Noir wasn't needed this morning, he was fine to come.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why do you not want me to come?" Black Noir asked as I was eating some breakfast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's my first day of school!" I exclaimed. "It's not that I don't want you to come. It's just," I sighed. "You're, you and all, and I don't want any special treatment or anything, you know?" He nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I understand," Noir said. "I will just be coming with you to the office, however. No one will see me." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You say that now…" I muttered. "But you're right. It'll be fine. I'm just nervous, is all." I looked down at my cereal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You will do great," Black Noir told me. "Now, we should get going if you want to be on time." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My meeting with the high school principal was at 9:00, twenty minutes after classes had started, meaning the hallways were empty of other students. At least, mostly. There had been a kid milling around outside vaping that saw us walk in, causing the nervousness in my stomach to bubble up again when I saw him pull out his phone to take a photo of Noir as we walked past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, the office was easy to find, so we were able to avoid any more teenagers sneaking photos of the famous Black Noir. I swung the door to the office open and walked in, already having seen the secretaries shocked faces from down the hall through the glass windows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"C-can I help you?" she asked, looking at Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm Riley," I said. "I called earlier? Here to enroll."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right," the secretary said, still not turning your head. "With your… brother." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yup," I nodded. "With my brother…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I'll let Mr. Wagner know you're here. Please take a seat." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," I said, turning around to sit down in one of the little plastic chairs they had on the other side of the front desk. Black Noir sat down beside me, hands on his lap. I could see the secretaries and a teacher whispering to each other behind the desk, likely about us. I began to fiddle with the sleeve of my sweater, trying not to feel nervous. Black Noir noticed and put a hand on my shoulder, a way of telling me to take a breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley?" a voice called. I looked up to see a man, who I assumed to be the principal, standing in front of us. "Mr. Wagner. Nice to meet you," he offered his hand for me to shake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hi," I replied, standing up. I shook his hand. "This is my brother, and soon to be legal guardian," I motioned over to Black Noir, who was now standing behind me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's an honour to meet you," the principal said, shaking his hand as well. "Please, come on in. We'll get you set up." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully the meeting did not take long. The paperwork given to us by the lawyers seemed to be perfect, and the principal had no issues getting me into the system and setting up a schedule. The principal made sure to boast about the excellent programs they offered, the acceptance rates into post-secondary, and their excellent inclusion policies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please, if you have any issues with anything or anyone," Mr. Wagner was saying to me. "Do not hesitate to come to see me, and we will deal with it." I nodded, briefly thinking about the welcome speech that other students would get when their family members weren't world-famous superheroes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," I said, standing up. "From both of us." Mr. Wagner smiled, shaking both mine and Black Noir's hands again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It is my pleasure. I will have the front desk print out your schedule, and they can show you to your first class!" He led us back out to the front office, where the crowd of teachers seemed to have grown. They all tried to look busy as we walked out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right this way!" a very cheery woman said to me, handing me a piece of paper with my timetable written on it. I saw Black Noir lean over and take a peek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for coming with me," I said to him as we walked back out. "I'll see you after." Before I could protest, Black Noir had pulled me in for a quick hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You'll do great," he whispered. I rolled my eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'll be fine," I told him. "Go save some lives or something." Black Noir gave me a thumbs up and headed out the front door. The secretary leading me to my class looked at me with a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're going to love it here," she started saying as we walked. "We have all sorts of-" I started to tune her out as we walked, my mind filling with more anxiety about school.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I'd never been to school since coming out, never been to school as Riley. I was worried some of the other students wouldn't respect that. And it's not like I could kick their asses for misgendering me, it would reflect very poorly on Vaught if I got suspended, and god knows what they would do if I stepped out of line. "And here we are!" the lady exclaimed, interrupting my anxiety spiral. I gripped the straps to my backpack tighter as she knocked on the classroom door. The teacher came to open the door, smiling when she saw me. I wonder if they told her who my brother was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Welcome!" she exclaimed, motioning for me to come in. I thanked the lady that led me here, and awkwardly walked in, eyeing the classroom of thirty kids. "Well, everyone," the teacher started. "We have a new student here today!" Oh god, she wasn't going to make me introduce myself, was she? "Would you like to introduce yourself?" Fuck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh," I started, feeling nervous. "I'm Riley. They them pronouns please," I rubbed the back of my neck, noticing that half of the kids weren't even paying attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Would you like to tell us anything about yourself?" the teacher pressed. I shook my head. "Anything interesting?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not really…" I trailed off as there was another knock on the door. My eyes went wide as I saw through the tiny glass window who it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir swung the door open and took a step in, stopping himself when he saw the look I was giving him. He held out his left hand, which was holding a brown paper bag with my name scribbled on the side. By now, all of the students were back to paying attention, all of them staring at my brother, mouths on the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Black Noir gently set the bag in my hands, offering me a thumbs up. He then looked over at all of the students staring at him. He waved. I put my hand on my face. After he left, all of the students and the teacher looked to me, waiting for an explanation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I guess there is one interesting thing about me…" </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The school day went by very slowly. By the time lunch rolled around, I had convinced myself I had been here for at least nine hours already. For the entirety of my first class, I could feel everyone staring at me, hear some of their whisperings. They all wanted to know about me. I just tried to stay focused on the teacher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the bell rang to change class, I had about a dozen different students offer to show me to my next class, which turned out to be directly across the hallway. And although most of the kids in the next one were different, I still seemed to be the topic of discussion. Word travelled fast, I guess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lunch rolled around, and I managed to find my own way to the cafeteria. I had been hoping to find myself an empty table, not feeling brave enough to try and make any friends just yet. However, I had only made it a few steps when I heard a group of people calling my name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, over here! We saved a seat for you!" a girl with a very high pitched voice exclaimed. I debated pretending I didn't hear them, but I had made the mistake of making eye contact with another one of the girls in the group. I sighed and slowly began to walk over, not wanting to be rude. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Heyyyy," one of the girls greeted me. She eagerly patted the empty seat beside her, motioning for me to come to sit down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hi," I replied, trying to force a smile. I swung my backpack around so I could get my lunch out. As I did, I noticed that everyone around the table was staring at me. There were about half a dozen girls, each of them wearing fancy brands of clothing and enough make-up to be over-prepared for a movie set. A few of them were sitting with who I assumed to be their boyfriends, but now that I was at the table, I seemed to be more important. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So, how's your first day going?" one of the girls started to ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's been fine," I started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>great. So, like, Black Noir is your brother?" she replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yup," I said, pulling out the sandwich from my bag. It appeared Black Noir had made me a classic Pb&amp;J.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wow. That is, like, so cool," Another girl said. I faked another grin and nodded, taking a bite of my sandwich.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I read all about you this morning," the first girl went on. "That your like, parents, abused you and stuff?" My eyes went wide; she wasn't serious, was she? "But like, thank goodness for Black Noir!" she laughed. I quickly swallowed my bite, nodding my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh, is there a bathroom around here?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"There's one just down the hall to your left! I can show you if you want-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm okay," I stood up. "Thank you." It felt like I couldn't walk out of there faster. I cursed at myself for sitting down there in the first place. I could tell from a mile of way what kind of girls those were. They were also why I ate lunch in the bathroom at my old high school. I followed their directions, turning left out of the cafeteria and walking down the hall. However, when I got to the bathrooms, I stopped myself. The two signs stared back at me. Men's or Women's? I sighed. I probably should've inquired about this before I got here. I looked back and forth between the signs, debating to myself if it was worth it when there was a voice behind me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"There's a gender-neutral washroom by the art room." I spun around to look at my saviour. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't know where that is…" I started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can show you. I'm Elizabeth, she her." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, they them." I smiled. "You were in my English class?" I asked, trying to figure out if I had seen this person before. Elizabeth nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I saw you get swarmed by the Regina's in the caf. Figured you might need some help," she explained. I laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Good choice of name. And thank you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Of course!" she exclaimed. I followed her down a few more halls. "This washroom is technically a wheelchair accessible one, but they don't mind if we use it." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We?" I asked. Elizabeth smiled, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This bathroom doubles as the unofficial meeting place for our GSA." I tilted my head, about to ask more, when Elizabeth swung the door open to the bathroom. Sure enough, there were a few other students inside. Each of whom looked like your stereotypical queer kids. I felt myself smile, already feeling more welcome here than I did in the cafeteria. "Alright, everyone out," Elizabeth told them. "We got a pisser." I laughed again at the choice of words, but sure enough, she had gotten the rest of the students to shuffle out. Once the door closed, I felt myself take a deep breath. As I did, I also realized that this bathroom also seemed to double as the place to smoke weed without getting caught. Combined with the people waiting outside to come back in, I figured I wouldn't get away with hiding in here for the rest of lunch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, I quickly ran some cold water over my face, telling myself that I could make it through the day, and walked back out. Most of the students that been there before were still there, except now most of them were just sitting on the ground, eating their lunches. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're welcome to stay," one of them said to me. I nodded a few times. Deciding it was a better option than going back to the cafeteria, and sat down beside Elizabeth, getting my lunch out again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I hear you had a run-in with the Regina's," the person across from me said. I nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I got cornered."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Usually, they don't interact with us…" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"When I came out as Liz last year, they made sure to avoid me," Elizabeth added. I shook my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They just wanted to know about my brother," I explained. When I said this, they all looked at me, all of them looking like they wanted to say something. "I assume you've heard by now." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I heard all seven of them came to drop you off!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No way!" I exclaimed, with a laugh. "No one told </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>that!" A few of the others chuckled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But," another kid, clearly a freshman, started, "Black Noir WAS here, right?" I nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They needed him to sign some papers and stuff." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Does he sign his real name?"Someone asked. I shook my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Pretty sure he straight up signed it like it was a poster." Above us, the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Where's your next class?" Elizabeth asked me. I pulled out my schedule. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Biology. With, Mr, uh, Gilkerson?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I'm in that class!" the girl beside me explained. "I can take you." I nodded and stood myself up from the hallway floor. "I'm Kennedy, by the way." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I made it to the end of the day without any trouble. I was thankful that I had met the mini GSA at lunch; Kennedy ended up being in both my afternoon classes, and Elizabeth was in one, so I had someone to sit beside other than "the Regina's," which was nice. I made it back to the tower, my new home, and thankfully made it to Noir's room without running into anyone that wanted to talk to me. I tossed my backpack to the floor, not wanting to think about the amount of homework I had to catch up on, and began to make my way to the couch. Black Noir came out of his room, his mask and helmet off; he had been doing that around me more often these days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley, I am sorry-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's okay," I interrupted him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You had a good day?" Black Noir asked with a smile. I shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It could have gone worse," I said. He raised his eyebrows. "I even think I may have made a friend or two." Black Noir smiled again. "We hang out in the gender-neutral bathroom where you also go to smoke weed." I laughed as the smile on Black Noir's face turned into a look of concern. "No, it's okay. We just share the washroom with the potheads." The look did not fade. "I did not smoke weed," I clarified. "Promise." Black Noir held a finger up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If you're lying…" he warned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I know, I know, we'll lose the custody case." Black Noir nodded. "And besides, that stuff really messes with the whole sixth sense thing I got going on with the spider powers," I said as I spun around to pick my backpack up off the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, well-" Black Noir cut himself off. "Wait. Riley. How would you-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I should probably go do my homework," I quickly interrupted. Black Noir looked at me, hands on his hips. I faked a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Riley-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh no, look!" I exclaimed, pointing out the window. Someone'ss getting mugged! You better go save them!" Black Noir didn't even turn around to look, but I still bolted into my new bedroom. I put my ear up against the door, and although it was soft, I was pretty sure I could hear Black Noir laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thankfully, the rest of the school week went by pretty quickly. Since I had made a few friends, Kennedy and Elizabeth, I was able to hang out with them for lunch period and avoid any more drama with any of the popular kids, although they were quite adamant about trying to talk to me during classes. However, after a few days, once I told them that no, they couldn't come to the tower and no, I couldn't get them any autographs, they started to leave me alone, seeming disappointed. </p><p>And then, since I was pretty busy with homework and trying to catch up on what I had missed earlier in the semester, I was able to avoid many more interactions with other members of The Seven. Black Noir and I still got up at the crack of dawn to go and train, but it appeared that Noir was really the only one who cared about practicing. I got the impression that the others didn't care about much, and or their mornings were spent nursing hangovers before Vaught sent them away for PR crap. </p><p>The weekend rolled around, and I was glad to be able to take a day off of going to school. I forced Black Noir to let me sleep in on Saturday, thinking maybe he would give me till seven or eight instead of waking me up at five. However, it appeared he decided to give me the entire morning off, and I ended up sleeping until well after noon. I rolled myself out of bed, wrapping one of the fuzzy blankets around my shoulders before walking into the kitchen, hoping Black Noir would have left some breakfast or even lunch out for me when I saw a few other people sitting in the kitchen with Noir, a bunch of papers on the table. </p><p>"Good morning!" Homelander exclaimed, seeing me walk into the room. I quickly wrapped the blanket further around myself. </p><p>"H-hi," I stuttered. "Homelander… A-Train…" I debated turning around right then and there, wanting to go back into my room, but my stomach growled. "I'm just going to grab some food…" I mumbled, hardly loud enough for anyone sitting around the table to hear. However, after I said that, Black Noir held up a hand, pointing towards the microwave. Curiously, I walked over and opened up the door, a grin spreading across my face as I saw a plate of pancakes sitting inside. "Thanks, Noir," I said over my shoulder, closing the microwave and reheating the pancakes. </p><p>"Noir cooks?" A-Train asked from the table. I nodded. </p><p>"Yeah." </p><p>"And the food is edible?" </p><p>"You tell me," I said, pulling the pancakes from the microwave and showing them off, the smell wafting through the room. "Still have that whipped cream in the fridge?" I asked Noir, ignoring the confused looks the other two were giving my brother, and I. Black Noir nodded. I grinned again, getting the can and spraying a dollop onto the top of my pancakes. Satisfied, I closed the fridge, grabbed myself a fork, and started to walk back to my room,</p><p>"Oh, Riley, come join us!" Homelander called out. I stopped in my tracks, glad I wasn't facing him, so he couldn't see the pout on my face. I fake a smile,</p><p>"I don't want to interrupt or anything-" </p><p>"Oh no, no, no, please!" Homelander went on, beckoning to the empty seat at the kitchen table. I tried my hardest not to lose my fake grin and nodded, sitting myself down at the table.</p><p>"So, uh, what are you guys up to?" I asked, cutting myself a piece of pancake and promptly shoving it in my mouth. </p><p>"We're being sent on a team-up tonight," A-Train said. I nodded, taking another bite to avoid talking more. </p><p>"We're just forming a game plan!" Homelander explained. I nodded again. </p><p>"Sounds fun," I said, still chewing my food. As I did, I noticed the door to the room swing open. </p><p>"It is fun!" Homelander went on, not seeming to care about who was walking in. "Maybe one of these days, you can come to join me!" I raised my eyebrows.</p><p>"Not until they are eighteen they can't," the voice of the new visitor said. </p><p>"Oh, Madelyn! Perfect timing! I had a question about tonight's schedule," Homelander started. </p><p>"Come by my office later, and we can discuss," Stillwell cut him off. "I need to talk to Riley and Black Noir," she explained. I felt myself gulp, looking between Noir and the other two supes in the room. "Alone," Stillwell added, noticing the others lingering.</p><p>"Right!" Homelander stood up, giving A-Train a pat on the shoulder. "We will finish this discussion later, Noir. And Riley, good to see you are settling in." And with that, Homelander and A-Train left. Stillwell took the place of Homelander at the table, placing a few papers down on top of the "game plan" for the night's team-up.</p><p>"A-Am I in trouble?" I couldn't help but ask. Stillwell smiled in a way that I couldn't tell if it was forced or not.</p><p>"Of course not," she said. Again, I couldn't tell if that statement was true or not. "We just had some stuff come up with the court case." </p><p>"Oh?" I asked, starting to feel nervous. </p><p>"We here at Vaught were able to pull some strings, and the judge agreed to move the date up to the sixteenth!" </p><p>"O-of March?" I asked. The date given was well into June. Stillwell laughed slightly. </p><p>"Of February!" </p><p>"But, but that's this Monday," I stuttered. Stillwell nodded. "W-why?" I asked, looking over to Black Noir, wishing I could read his facial expression through the mask so I would know if I had to be worried or not.</p><p>"Well, apparently, your parents have already pleaded guilty to all charges, meaning there is no need for the investigation to go on further."  </p><p>"They did?" I asked, eyes wide. Stillwell nodded again. </p><p>"The judge even agreed to move the custody hearing to Monday as well, meaning after the sentencing hearing, which your presence still required for, Black Noir will officially become your legal guardian!" </p><p>"W-wow," I said under my breath. That actually sounded like good news. I didn't even want to ask what the catch was. "T-thank you, Ms. Stillwell, I-I don't even know what to say, that's-"</p><p>"There's no need to say anything. We here at Vaught appreciate all of your cooperation this past week and expect it to continue." </p><p>"Of course!" I exclaimed. "I'm just so grateful that--" </p><p>"Ashley will be meeting with the both of you later this afternoon to discuss what's next," Stillwell interrupted me. "There's a lot of press around the two of you, and we need to make sure it all goes over well." I nodded, now forcing myself to grin. That sounded like the catch. Of course, they wanted the court case done sooner. The sooner I was under the legal custody of Black Noir, who is under control of Vaught, the sooner they would be able to use me for PR, marketing for Black Noir and their brand. I felt a sense of dread in my stomach already just thinking about that movie they wanted me to be in. I looked back over at Stillwell, who glanced down at her watch. "Now, I have another meeting I need to get to; Ashley should be here shortly." </p><p>"Great!" I exclaimed, forcing myself to sound excited. "Thanks again, Ms. Stillwell." She offered me another smile, this one I could tell was forced and left. I looked over at Black Noir.</p><p>"You may want to get dressed before Ashley arrives," he suggested. I looked down myself, completely forgetting that I had been in my PJs and a blanket for that entire conversation. I rolled my eyes, trying to deflect the embarrassment I felt. I quickly scurried back to my room to change. </p><p>"This good news, though, right?" I asked once I was done changing. Noir nodded, </p><p>"I think so." </p><p>"Me too," I smiled, about to add more when there was a knock on the door. I sighed, glancing over it.</p><p>"I'll get it," Noir said, standing up to go let Ashley in. I took the second to take a deep breath; I could do this. Maybe it would be fun being a celebrity. I'd never really considered the idea, my parents stomping out any dreams I had about being a famous superhero, so much to the point I didn't actually want it anymore. But, it did sound kind of fun, even with the circumstances of why we were even here in the first place. </p><p>"Riley, hello!" Ashley exclaimed, walking into the kitchen. </p><p>"Hi," I forced a smile. "How are y--"</p><p>"We got a lot to cover today," she interrupted, sitting herself down at the table, adding even more papers to the ever growing pile. "First, I just want to say that you've been doing a great job already Riley, Black Noir is already up twelve points with the LGBT community, six with teenagers, and five with liberals." </p><p>"But I haven't even done anything," I started to point out. </p><p>"You being at school has already created quite a buzz. That photo someone took of Noir bringing you lunch really warmed a lot of hearts." </p><p>"W-wait, I didn't know that there was a-" </p><p>"Now, the public really wants to know more about you, given you are an inside look at Black Noir, so, you're going to love this; after the court case, we have booked both you and Black Noir to be guests on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that Tuesday." My eyes went wide,</p><p>"L-like on TV?" I asked. </p><p>"Of course!" </p><p>"Right, okay," I said, mostly to myself. I looked over at Black Noir. He caught my gaze and gave me a small nod. "That sounds scary," I hadn't meant to say that part out loud. </p><p>"I'll be there with you every step of the way," Ashley went on. "We'll find out what Jimmy will be asking and prepare you with some answers so it'll be a piece of cake." </p><p>"I-" </p><p>"Then, this is so great, they've already gotten a director for the Black Noir movie! Seth Rogen!" she exclaimed. "Can you believe it?" I shook my head,</p><p>"I really can't…" </p><p>"He is also taking on writing the script, and Vaught is very eager to get this movie out, especially while you are still relevant, so they are aiming to start filming in early April." </p><p>"While I'm relevant-?" I tried to interject. Ashley pressed on,</p><p>"And then, we here at Vaught really want you to be able to connect with a younger audience, especially providing the world with more of a view of Black Noir and the other members of The Seven, and life in the tower, so, have you heard of this app called Vine?" I slowly nodded. </p><p>"I have?" </p><p>"Great! Well, I have already gone ahead and made you an account," she opened up her laptop and showed me the already existing profile they had made for me. My page was under the username of 'Riley_Noir_Official.' </p><p>"Riley Noir?" I asked. "A-are they making that my legal last name?" </p><p>"Of course! You are Black Noir's sibling after all," Ashley said as if that explained it. I looked over at my brother, he shrugged. </p><p>"Do I get to make the vines myself?" </p><p>"Don't be silly. We have a team that will manage the account for you; they will come up with all the ideas; all you need to do is be there to film them from your phone." </p><p>"So, it's fake." </p><p>"Well, only partially. I'm sure the team in charge of the account will be open to hearing your ideas." </p><p>"Right..." I muttered. Ashley seemed like she was about to go on when Black Noir stood up from the table. He motioned for me to stand up with him. I looked over at Ashley, who nodded. "What's up?" I asked once Black Noir had led me over to the corner of the room. </p><p>"You should ask her if I will be allowed to make my own vines."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Walking into the courthouse Monday morning felt surreal. Naturally, there were dozens of reporters standing outside, each trying to yell over the others so that I would answer their questions as cameras flashed in my face. It didn't help that Vaught wanted a few other members of The Seven to come to "support Black Noir and me." I was just thankful that I had Black Noir by my side, his silent demeanour keeping the press far enough away from us so we could walk. Oddly enough, it felt like I was walking down a red carpet; I was dressed for one thanks to a shopping trip with Ashley, only this red carpet didn't lead to a movie premiere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, the reporters weren't allowed to enter the courthouse, and once we were inside and the door closed behind us, I was able to take a breath. Then I saw my parents. Instantly, I felt myself tense up, and I stopped moving. I hadn't seen them in months, not since they-- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can't do this," I whispered, loud enough so only Black Noir could hear. He stopped walking as well, following my gaze to my mom and dad, </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>dad, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder with a nod. We kept walking. All we needed to do was make it to the bench; maybe they wouldn't even see us. Then I heard them call my name. My deadname. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sweetheart!" my mom called, running up to me. I felt myself curl my hands into fists. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's not my name," I said through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But," my dad said, also using my deadname. "Don't you think this is all a little dramatic? We just-" he cut himself off as Black Noir sent him a glare. "Dammit, we could go to jail! Is that really what you want?!" my dad exclaimed, his voice getting louder. I took a deep breath, trying not to let myself show any fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You deserve worse," I muttered. I looked up at Black Noir, "Let's go." Black Noir nodded, and the two of us went to sit down. The court still wanted me to give a testimony, and since the custody hearing was right afterwards, they had the two of us sitting at the front. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The courtroom was mostly empty. No one came to sit behind my parents' bench, and the only people behind me were Ashley, Homelander, Queen Maeve, and Translucent, who, despite wearing a suit, still kept himself invisible. The only other people in the room were my lawyers, my parents' lawyer, and the judge, who seemed very eager to get this over and done with. When we sat down, he promptly called the court into session. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that, it didn't take long to get things moving. I was called to the stand and, as bravely as I could, said what I had practiced with the lawyers. I somehow managed to make it through the whole thing without crying. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of a bunch of literal superheroes, the judge, and, most importantly, my parents. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And when all was said and done? Since they had cooperated and admitted guilt, the judge simply granted them time-served, with a few months of probation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's bullshit!" Homelander said once the court had gone into recess. "After all that shit they did to you? A supe?!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's fine," I started, starting to feel a little frightened by his tone. "At least they lost custody." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, if I was you-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Homelander," Queen Maeve cut him off. He looked at her, bewildered that she interrupted him. "The reporters outside want you to say a few words."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right. Well, good luck on the next half, kiddo," Homelander said before turning around. Kiddo? I looked over at Black Noir, who was still staring at the bench where my parents had been sitting. I wondered what was going through his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey," I said, going to sit back down beside him. "Not having any second thoughts about adopting me, are you?" I asked, half teasing. He shifted his gaze and looked at me; I could see a small smile under his mask. "We got this. Then, I'm thinking, since the school gave me the whole day off, we could order a pizza and…" I trailed off. "You have to work, don't you?" Black Noir nodded. "Right… Well, later then. We still have to finish the prequels. I think you're really going to love Anakin; he really reminds me of someone you work with..." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The second half of the court went even smoother than the first. The judge had no issue transferring custody to Black Noir and, since my parents were no longer allowed a say, it was all done within about half an hour. The judge dismissed us, and we stood up. Before I realized it, Black Noir had pulled me in for a hug. That was the moment I started to cry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," I sobbed into Black Noir's shoulder. Behind us, I heard a camera flash,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Now that is a great photo," Ashley said. "The reporters are going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>this." I pulled back from the hug, looking at Black Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's going to be this for the rest of our lives," I said to him. He laughed slightly, putting a hand on my shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, good news!" Ashley exclaimed, now walking up to us. "The guest they had tonight cancelled last minute, so Jimmy Fallon moved you two up to tonight!" My eyes went wide. I had completely forgotten about that entire thing. "C'mon," Ashley went on, “we'll go get you both some lunch and then get you ready." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"At least now you don't have to work tonight," I said to Black Noir. He leaned down so he could whisper in my ear,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This is worse," he muttered. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You'll be fine," I told him. "You're not the one that has to do all of the talking."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the interview was growing closer and closer, the more nervous I began to get. Thankfully the greenroom they put us in while we waited was full of snacks, and I spent the better part of half an hour stress eating, trying to listen to the tips Ashley was trying to tell me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And most importantly, be yourself!" Ashley exclaimed. I nodded, reaching my hand for another donut. "Don't eat that!" Ashley interrupted, just as I was about to take a bite. "You'll get jelly on your suit." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But-" I started, looking down at the donut. I sighed, the suit they bought me was really nice, they had let me pick some of my own clothes out and let me decide what to wear tonight, so I had gone with a suit with a really nice floral pattern on it. I put the donut down, looking over at Black Noir, who was adjusting the red bow tie he had on over his supe suit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How many people are going to be watching this?" I asked Ashley, now fiddling with some of the buttons on my suit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Only a few million live. After that, it's hard to say, but given the popularity of Black Noir, I'd say a lot more," she explained as if that would somehow make me feel less nervous. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the dressing room, and a second later, Jimmy Fallon himself stuck his head in. I felt myself gulp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hello there, everyone!" he said, fully walking into the room. "I just wanted to come introduce myself before the show," he held out a hand to me, which I awkwardly shook. He then held his hand to my brother. "Black Noir! It's good to have you back." Jimmy Fallon looked between the two of us, smiling. "We have a lot of people really excited about this episode. We'll start off with the interview with you two, and then after the break, we're going to play a few rounds of Pictionary. Do you have any questions for me?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Pic-" I started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We're good here," Ashley cut me off. "Thank you, Mr. Fallon!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We have to play Pictionary?!" I exclaimed. Ashley shrugged,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, it was really the only game Black Noir could play." I put a hand on my face. The T.V on the side of the wall showed that the show was getting started. I knew we would be on after the first commercial break.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think I'm going to throw up," I muttered, the nerves in my stomach making me regret my choice of stress eating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, you won't," Ashley told me. "You remember your talking points?" I nodded. They were giving me a bit of freedom with what to say but made sure to point out what topics were strictly off-limits. "Then let's go get you backstage." I nodded again as I began to follow her, my legs feeling wobbly. Was it hot in here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We walked behind the set, the stage crew ogling at Black Noir and I as we passed. Ashley positioned us so that we could see onto the side of the set while we waited. Jimmy Fallon was giving his intro speech, talking about the "special guests" he had tonight. I put a hand on my stomach, trying to settle my nerves when I felt Black Noir put a hand on my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimmy Fallon finished his intro, and the station cut to commercial. During this time, Jimmy walked backstage to where Noir and I were standing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You ready?" he asked. Black Noir held a thumbs up with the hand that wasn't on my shoulder. I rubbed the back of my head, offering a nod. "Hey, no need to be nervous," Jimmy told me. I offered him a weak smile. The crew behind us began to count down again, and he went back onto the set. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Now, we have some very interesting guests here tonight," Jimmy started saying once the cameras were live. "I'm sure you've all heard by now about how Black Noir has recently been in a legal battle over the custody of his half-sibling," I felt myself gulp; did he really have to phrase it like that? "Well, now that the court case is closed, we have both of them here tonight! Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Riley and Black Noir!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The audience began to clap, some of them even hollering in excitement. I looked up at Black Noir. He gave me a nod and started walking onto the set, still keeping one arm on my shoulder as he waved to the cameras. I forced myself to smile and wave with him, the lights shining onto the stage, making me even more nervous than I was before. Jimmy Fallon motioned for us to sit down in the two chairs in front of his desk. I let Black Noir take the seat closer to the desk, given he was the reason everyone would be watching. Jimmy, however, noticed this and laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I like how you had Black Noir sit beside me despite the fact that he is going to do none of the talking!" Jimmy said, causing the audience to laugh. I shrugged in response, causing them to laugh again. "So, Riley," Jimmy went on once the audience settled down. "You kinda came out of nowhere!" Everyone laughed again, and I forced a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-yeah," I stuttered, trying my best to maintain my composure. "It's been quite the week," I said with a laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can imagine!" he laughed. "So Black Noir is your… Half-brother?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah," I nodded. "We, uh, share a dad." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And you didn't know that?" he asked. I shook my head with a small laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, I only just found out, like, a few months ago." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wow. I bet that was quite the shock!" I nodded. "And did he, did he tell you that?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yup. He uh, had this photo of him and his dad when he was little, and he showed it to me, and you know, I recognized my dad…" Beside me, Black Noir nodded. "So a few months ago, he was finally able to track dad down, he had left Noir when he was little, and that's how he found out about me," I explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But you weren't at home then, were you?" Jimmy Fallon pressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, I, uh, well, I mean you know about my parents and all; it seems like dad didn't mind messing up two different kids," I said with a small laugh. "So I had run away; it was safer for me on the streets than in my own home." The audience was quiet as I said that. I thought back to what Ashley had been saying about keeping the mood light. "So you can imagine how crazy it all was when Black Noir comes and saves my life and then tells me he's my brother." Jimmy Fallon smiled and looked to Black Noir.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Speaking of, I heard a rumour; you can tell me if I'm wrong, but someone said that you actually talk to Riley?" Black Noir nodded in response, and Jimmy Fallon looked over at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's a bit of a weird explanation…" After that, the interview went by without any more trouble. The more I talked, the less nervous I got, and the audience seemed to be enjoying their time, so I took that as a hint I was doing okay. Eventually, they cut to commercial, and the stage crew began to set up for the game. I still hated the fact that I had to do it in the first place, but at least I wasn't feeling as nervous about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, so we're going to play a few rounds of Pictionary," Jimmy Fallon started once the cameras were live again. "You do know how to play Pictionary, right?" he asked Noir. Jimmy then turned to me. "He does know how to play Pictionary?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I mean, I hope so," I said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's reassuring. Okay, you go first." Jimmy handed me a card that said 'Lightlighter' on it. I popped the cap to the pen, then looked back at Jimmy and Noir, who were sitting beside each other on a couch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, how is Noir supposed to guess?" I asked. The audience laughed again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh," he said, looking at Black Noir, causing the audience to laugh more. "I guess I'm by myself." They started the timer, and I quickly got to work drawing my picture. I began by trying to draw his outfit, failed miserably, so I drew a lamp and then a lighter, and Jimmy could guess it. After me, Jimmy was up. I had no idea what was going on, and what he was trying to draw, but thankfully Noir leaned over and whispered the answer to me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fresca!" I exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Who made these cards?" he laughed. "Okay, Noir, you're up." I watched curiously as Black Noir stood up to grab a card, the audience watching very eagerly. The timer started and-- nothing. He was just standing there. "Uh, Riley," Jimmy said. "He doesn't know how to play, does he?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I started, watching as Black Noir simply pointed to the blank piece of paper. I looked at Noir. "Bro, you gotta draw what was on the card." Black Noir nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's okay if it's bad!" Jimmy said to him, the timer still counting down in the background. Black Noir simply pointed to the blank paper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What?!" I exclaimed, starting to get caught up in the game. Black Noir slowly took the cap off the marker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"He's doing something!" Jimmy Fallon shouted, sitting at the edge of his seat. I watched as Black Noir drew a stick figure. "Person!" Jimmy guessed. Next, however, Black Noir simply ripped the piece of paper off, showing another blank one. He pointed at it. I felt everyone looking at me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Five!" the audience started to count. "Four! Three!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, wait!" I shouted, jumping up off the couch. "Translucent!" Black Noir put his hands in the air, the audience started clapping. Black Noir offered me a high five, while Jimmy Fallon said his lines about the show going to commercial, thanking Noir and me for coming on. The camera crews declared we were off. I waved once more to the audience, and we took our exit, where Ashley was waiting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Holy shit!" she said once she saw us. "That actually went really good! You're a natural!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Did you not think-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We are so booking you two for Ellen next week!" </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next few weeks flew by. Between school, homework, training with Noir every morning, and the amount of PR crap Vaught had me doing, I barely had time to breathe. The first few weeks, they had Noir, and I on what I’m pretty sure was every possible talk show in America, and even one in Canada (who knew they had talk shows?!) and even a few interviews with news outlets. While Black Noir complained the entire time about having to sit quietly through them all, I think he was thankful for having time where he didn’t have to be controlled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My vine campaign was also off to a great start. Though I would never admit it, I was having a little bit of fun being able to run around the tower filming weird things. The team that was supposed to be in charge of my account had surprisingly liked most of my ideas and let me make most of my own. After all, how else were they supposed to get their “domestic Black Noir” footage? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So far, my most successful video was when I attempted to do the smack cam challenge to Noir, only he had heard me from a mile away, and the video was him just slowly turning around to look at me while my hand was full of whipped cream. However, now, Vaught wanted me to do smack cams with all the members of The Seven, so…  That was a terrifying thought. Although I was pretty sure the rest was going to be “planned” so that it wouldn’t result in me getting either laser eyed or fucking burnt to a crisp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what’s it really like living at the tower?” Kennedy, one of my friends from school, asked me one day at lunch. Since I had started school, I had made good friends with her and Elizabeth, although lunch was often spent by that gender neutral bathroom with a few other queer kids. All of them knew I didn’t really like to talk about my brother or knew that I couldn’t, so when this question was asked, I was taken a bit by surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh,” I started. “What do you mean?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you’ve been saying in all these interviews that living there with The Seven is super crazy and fun, but like, is it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean…” I trailed off, looking for a way to answer the question that didn’t require me to flat out lying to them. “It’s definitely weird.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s Homelander like?” Kennedy asked. At this, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “What?!” Kennedy exclaimed. “I go both ways!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think you have a chance with Homelander?” Elizabeth laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you still think you have a chance with Queen Maeve!” Kennedy argued. They both looked at me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quite frankly, I don’t think either of you has a chance.” Both of them laughed. The conversation quickly shifted to other celebrities they found attractive, and I found myself sighing in relief. Especially knowing what was waiting for me when I got back to the tower today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s epic to finally meet you,” Seth Rogen said, shaking my hand. I forced a grin, looking around the conference room. The table was full with the other two writers I had met before, a marketing person, Ashley, a bunch more people that were involved in movie creation, and of course, Black Noir.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They wasted no time launching into the production meeting, discussing dates and deadlines and location, and so much more. Eventually, a script was handed to me. There was a wave of nervousness as I looked down at it. I noticed that the title had been changed from Black Noir: Insurgence to Black Noir: Insurrection. For a brief moment, I wondered if they actually knew what the word meant or if they changed the title to make it sound cooler. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I began flipping through some of the pages to the script, ignoring whatever everyone else was saying. Every time I saw a line with my name at the front of it, I became more nervous. Maybe I should’ve been taking acting classes this past month instead of training every morning with Noir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, Riley,” a voice finally said. My head snapped up from looking at the script. Seth Rogen was speaking to me. “I’ve changed your character a bit since you were last briefed on the movie. We’re thinking more of a punk vibe for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh…kay,” I said, trying to sound and look interested. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, your character is going to be, well, you’ll have the same intro as before,” Seth started. I nodded, trying to recall what they had told me before. “But, after you and Noir meet in the movie, you’re going to be like, his support, but like, from a computer. You know?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“L-like tech support?” I asked, slightly confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think more, hacker,” Seth Rogen told me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Cool?” I thought for a second. “S-so I won’t be using my powers?” I asked. I looked at Seth Rogen and saw him blink a few times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I totally forgot you were a supe,” he muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone laughed. “I mean, we could change it, but I like this storyline a lot better.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too!” Ashley agreed. I nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, alright, sounds fun,” I said. Maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world if my powers weren’t in the movie. Maybe if I was lucky, everyone would forget I had powers in the first place. That wouldn’t be so bad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The meeting trudged on for another hour, and Noir and I didn’t need to be there for any of it. I was pretty sure at one point he had fallen asleep in his chair. Finally, they sent us free, and Noir and I began to walk back to our apartment in the tower. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, no look at this one!” I exclaimed with a laugh, showing the page of the script I was holding to. “Riley offers Black Noir a fist bump: That was so epic, bro! Black Noir says nothing.” I laughed again. “They know us </span>
  <em>
    <span>so well!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” From under his mask, I could hear a slight chuckle. “Then, get this. The final shot of the movie is us doing a fist bump.” Black Noir laughed again as we turned the corner, where we practically ran into Queen Maeve. She looked at us, slightly confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did Black Noir just laugh?” she asked. There was a bit of a slur in her voice; I could tell she was drunk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I quickly said. “Black Noir doesn’t laugh.” Maeve raised her eyebrows. “We were just talking about the script for the movie.” This made her grin,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, am I glad my trilogy is over. If they make me be in another fucking shitty movie, I’ll- what?” Maeve cut herself off as I had given her a weird look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, uh,” I looked down at my script, debating if I should tell her what member of The Seven was making a cameo in our film. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m in it, aren’t I?” she asked. I slowly nodded. A second later, the script was grabbed from my hands, Queen Maeve flipping through it until she found her scene. She muttered a few more curse words under her breath and threw the script down to the ground, promptly storming off. Once she was gone, I slowly bent down to grab my script, trying to adjust the bent pages.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway…” I said to Noir. “Do you think I can find someone to actually teach me to hack? Then I’ll know what I’m doing for the movie!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next couple of weeks went by even faster than the previous ones. The days began to blend together, always being on the go made time fly. Somehow, Black Noir had taken my idea of actually learning to hack to heart, and before I knew it, I was spending my time down with the tech people at Vaught, learning all I could. It was actually kind of fun. And I was good at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so time went on, although things were never calm, everything going on around Black Noir and I seemed to be okay. There were few nights where he would come home in rough shape, similar to that night back at the other apartment, but there had yet to be anything like that happening again. I was happy. I was pretty sure Noir was happy to. And then… well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My seventeenth birthday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had almost forgotten about it myself, partly due to the fact that I’d never had a good birthday before and partly due to the fact that I hardly knew what month it was, much less the day. So when Black Noir came to wake me up, like he usually did in the mornings so we could go and train together, I noticed the time read seven, not five. I was about to question him on the sleep in when I walked into the living room.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha-?” I started, my mouth falling slightly open. The room was decorated with various balloons, streamers, and a giant banner that read “Happy Birthday Riley” on it. I found myself grinning ear to ear. “You-” I started. “I didn’t even tell you my birthday…” Black Noir grinned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did have to sign paperwork to gain custody of you,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you remembered my birthday?!” I exclaimed. Black Noir nodded. “I-” I started but found myself at a loss of words. So instead, before he had a chance to protest, I pulled him into a hug. “Thank you,” I said. “And hey, now I’m only going to be your problem for another year!” Black Noir smiled, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think you’ll be my problem for much longer than that,” he muttered. I laughed. “Now, I have to get going, but breakfast is on the table, and I did manage to convince them to give me the day off once you are back from school. I have a surprise for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” I asked. He nodded, and I felt the grin on my face going wider. “I’ll see you then, I guess.” Black Noir nodded again, now pulling his mask over his head and putting his helmet on overtop. I waved goodbye and went over to investigate the kitchen, where I found chocolate chip pancakes waiting for me, decked out with whipped cream and sprinkles. I wasted no time digging in, these past few weeks, we had had less time to cook for ourselves, and I had really missed Noir’s home cooking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>School came and went rather slowly, my mind preoccupied with what the surprise would be. I found myself practically running through the tower hallways once I got back, receiving only a few odd looks from the employees. I swung the door to the apartment open and-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley!” Homelander exclaimed, watching me burst in. “You didn’t say it was your birthday!” I stopped dead in my tracks and quickly forced a smile, unsure of how to respond to that. “If I would have known, I would’ve gotten you a gift!” Homelander went on. I looked over at my brother, who was simply sitting down at the kitchen table, my breakfast dishes now cleaned up. I glanced back at Homelander,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s okay…” I started. “Is there, uh, a reason for your visit?” Homelander put his hands on his hips,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, now that you mention it. I was trying to ask Black Noir a question, but you know how that goes.” I blinked a few times. “The same question as before Noir,” Homelander said with a smile. “Why don’t we have Riley be the go-between here?” Black Noir nodded, standing up from his chair. I trailed behind him towards his bedroom, where he promptly shut the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” I quickly asked. He nodded, although the tapping of his foot while he thought was telling me otherwise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just, tell him…” Black Noir paused. I heard him sigh. “Tell him I can take care of it. Just not tonight.” My eyebrows furrowed together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” I started, but Black Noir had already opened the door back up. Homelander looked at me, expecting an answer. “He, uh, he says he can take care of it. Just not tonight.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh well, I am in no rush!” Homelander exclaimed, giving Black Noir a pat on the shoulder. “That just means I have tonight to find you a birthday gift, young gi-” he cut himself off. “Child!” he corrected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s not nec-” but I was unable to finish the sentence as he had already let himself out. I looked over at my brother. “What just happened?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That does not matter. You need to go and get changed, or we are going to be late.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Changed?” I asked. I could see Black Noir grin under his mask as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out two tickets and held them out to me. “Hamilton tickets?!” I exclaimed, reading what was printed on them. Black Noir nodded. “Holy shit! These are so hard to get! How did you-?” Black Noir shrugged, and I shook my head. “I officially love having a famous brother. Oh my god, this is so exciting!” I squealed, already running towards my room to get changed. “Hamilton!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The show was amazing. I mean, it was Hamilton, after all. The seats Noir had gotten for us were incredible; we had our own private booth with a great view of the stage. Obviously, some people noticed that we were at the show, and during intermission, we were both invited backstage. Lin-Manuel Miranda himself even came to say hi! I spent the entire car ride back to the tower gushing to Black Noir about how amazing it all was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think maybe one day they would let me be in Hamilton?!” I asked as we walked back to the apartment. “I mean, I can kind of sing, king of dance, and Lin-Manuel Miranda also said he would love to represent black non-binary folk one day! That’s me!” I heard Black Noir laugh as he opened the door, holding it open for me to go in before him. “Wouldn’t that be-” I stopped myself, noticing that someone was standing on our balcony. The two of us walked over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There you two are!” Homelander exclaimed. “How was the show?” I glanced back at Noir, but it looked like he wasn’t expecting the drop in either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-it was really good!” I replied, trying to sound as excited as I had been before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got you a birthday present!” Homelander went on after a brief second of silence. My eyes went wide, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? Oh, wow, I, uh, that wasn’t necessary, sir,” I stuttered. Homelander waved a hand out in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything for Noir’s sibling! Now come!” Homelander motioned for me to grab onto him so he could fly us somewhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” I started. “W-where are we going?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise!” he laughed. “C’mon!” I looked behind me at Black Noir, wondering what the Hell I was supposed to do in this situation. “Don’t worry,” Homelander went on. “We won’t be gone long. Then the two of you can keep doing whatever you two do!” Black Noir gave me a small nod. I looked back at Homelander and carefully accepted his hand. Before I knew what was happening, he had launched us into the air at a rapid speed, causing me to let out a small yelp. “Not afraid of heights, are we?” Homelander called over the sound of the wind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A little!” I exclaimed, making the mistake of looking down. Homelander laughed, although what type of laugh it was lost on me. I forced my eyes shut, not wanting to look down as a wave of nausea flung through my body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re here!” I heard Homelander exclaim after a few minutes. I felt him lower us back down to the ground, and once my feet were on the pavement, I slowly opened my eyes, wondering where we would need to go for this gift. Only when I saw where I was, the wave of nausea came back. “Ta-da!” Homelander exclaimed. My mouth fell open as I stared at the front door to my own home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha-?” I started. Homelander flashed me a grin and put an arm around my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It gets better,” he said, swinging open the front door, guiding me to follow. The panic in my chest began to build. Why would he bring me here? After everything that happened here? He literally heard all of it that day in court, why-- as we walked into the living room and I saw what was there, I suddenly forgot how to breathe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My parents. They were tied down to two of the kitchen chairs—arms behind their backs, gags in their mouths. I could see the terror in their eyes as the two of us walked in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t…” I started, trailing off, unable to shift my gaze. Homelander gave me a pat on the shoulder, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” he started, sounding as he usually did. “We both know that the court case was a load of bullshit and that these two should’ve been locked up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh,” I started, the feeling in my chest growing with each passing second. Then, when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Homelander shoved a pistol into my hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So! I figured, what better for your birthday than for you to get revenge!” he exclaimed. I felt my stomach drop. I looked up at him, bewildered. He simply grinned. “Happy birthday Riley! Go on, get shooting!” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>This couldn’t be fucking happening. There was no way that this was</span>
  <em>
    <span> fucking happening</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The gun in my hands felt heavy, heavier than anything I had ever known, yet at the same time didn’t weigh a thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go on!” I heard Homelander’s voice, but my mind was halfway to the moon and back at this point that I couldn’t even tell where he was standing. “Don’t be nervous!” Through the socks he had shoved in their mouths, I could hear the muffled cry of my parents. I couldn’t understand them, but I knew exactly what they were saying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” I started; as I spoke, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. “I-I can’t,” I stuttered, hoping that maybe I could make this end. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, you can! It’s not hard. You just-” Homelander walked up to me, grabbing my hands and forcing my arms into a shooting position, aiming directly at my father. “Then you just pull the trigger! Easy!” I found myself shaking my head, my lower jaw trembling. “Really, look!” Without letting go of my hands, Homelander jerked the gun slightly to the side and forced my finger down on the trigger. A loud bang ricocheted through the room, causing me to flinch backwards as the bullet lodged itself into the floor beside my dad. I could hear both my parents cry out in fear as my hyper senses were trying to process the loud noise that was the bullet. “See?” Homelander exclaimed, now letting go of me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ringing in my ears was so incredibly loud. I tried to put my hands to my head, to get it to stop, only to realize I was still holding the gun. I felt the first tear fall from my eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“P-please,” I managed to choke out, the gun falling from my trembling hands. “Don’t make me-” I could see Homelander roll his eyes, despite the dark living room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do they not deserve it?!” Homelander asked, his voice louder than usual. Homelander picked up the gun again. “Riley. You are a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> SUPERHERO! And, and these people! These regular people! Tried to take that away from you!” his tone was getting angrier. The gun somehow was back in my hands. I could feel more tears streaming down my cheeks. “You should be furious!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I,” I tried to stutter. My entire body was now trembling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley, shoot them, or I will!” Homelander yelled. I looked at him, my eyes wide with fear. He took a step closer to me, his eyes starting to glow red as he did so. “SHOOT THEM!” I tried to take a step backwards but stumbled and fell to the ground. “For God’s sake!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I watched in horror as Homelander turned around to where my parents were sitting and used his eyes to put a laser beam through the both of them, ripping their bodies in half in less than a second.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” I heard myself scream. I tried to jump forward as if somehow I could stop it all from happening, but Homelander easily pushed me back down to the ground, just as the thud of the top half of my mother hit the ground, her legs still tied to the chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus Christ,” Homelander muttered, looking down at me, his hands on his hips. “Look at what you made me do.” I didn’t dare say anything. Homelander shook his head. “You try to do something nice for somebody,” he muttered under his breath, now walking out the front door, leaving me all alone in the house of my nightmares, the bodies of my parents sitting across from me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I heard the sound of Homelander take flight, and I finally began to sob. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m s-sorry,” I cried. “I-I’m so sorry.” I put my hands on my head, wanting to close my eyes to take away the horror of what was in front of me, but all I could see was that moment playing on the back of my eyelids. “I didn’t want-” I continued to sob. What was I supposed to do now? I wanted to run, to get as far away from here as possible, but I was unable to lift myself from the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I stayed like that for a few minutes, weeping, stuck to the ground, paralyzed with fear and a combination of many emotions that my brain didn’t know how to process. I knew that I needed to deal with this, and once I had a little feeling in my arms again, I pulled out my phone and dialled the number he told me to use for emergencies only. This felt like one of those. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noir?” I sobbed into the phone. I could feel a lump at the back of my throat. I knew there would be no response. I tried to compose myself, so I could get out the next few words. “S-something happened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the line went dead before I heard the door open again. I had yet to move from the floor, my knees now up to my chest as I cried into my lap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley…” Black Noir crouched down beside me, wrapping his arms around me. I looked up at him, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” I started. “I didn’t-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he said, his voice soft. Now that he was here, I only began to sob harder. “It’s okay,” Black Noir said, pulling me closer so that my head was on his chest. “It’s not your fault. Breathe, Riley,” I nodded, trying to force myself to take a breath. Now that he was here, maybe things would be-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh goddammit,” a new voice spoke up. I glanced up to see Madelyn Stillwell now standing in the living room, her hands on her hips. She didn’t acknowledge either of us and went right to pulling out her phone. “Yeah, it’s me,” she spoke to the person on the other side. “Homelander….,” she sighed. “Killed the kid’s parents.” I borrowed my head back into Black Noir’s shoulder. “Yup,” Stillwell went on. “They called him. He’s here too.” I could feel Black Noir tighten the grip he had on me, and I got a bad feeling about where this was going. “Yeah, have him do that with the bodies. Then we’ll work on cleaning it up.” Stillwell hung up the phone and looked back at Black Noir and me. Before she had the chance to say anything, Black Noir’s phone started ringing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I muttered. That phone call meant that they were going to make him- “No, please,” I begged. I looked up at Noir, tears welling up in my eyes again. “Don’t go,” I sobbed. I heard him sigh from under his mask. He gave me another quick squeeze and answered the phone. And, just like a flip had been switched, Black Noir quickly stood up, tossed me to the side, and walked over to where my parents were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alone on the ground again, I began to cry even more. This wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley,” I heard Stillwell say. I glanced up to see her standing above me, her arms folded. “We need to talk about this.” I shook my head, no. My gaze shifted to my brother, who was now mindlessly dragging out the body of my father, his father, with no choice in the matter. “We’ll have someone take you back to the tower to get cleaned up and then-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I said, my voice no longer shakey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I said again, more anger in my voice. “Fuck you.” I stood up off the floor. “Fuck Vaught.” Stillwell tried to put a hand out to stop me, but obviously, I was stronger than her and quickly pushed by. I bolted out the front door and took off down the street full speed, my mind racing twice as fast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wanted to scream, to cry, to yell, all of the feelings in my chest were just seeming to bubble over, and there was nothing I could do. Nowhere I could go. And I was angry. Angry about everything that had just happened. I mean, I know I didn’t like those people, but that hadn’t meant that they deserved to die… I was angry that the only person I wanted to comfort me was taken away and angry that the two of us were trapped in this corporate hellscape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without an exact destination in my mind, it appeared that my feet had taken me back to Black Noir’s apartment. The one I lived at before moving to the tower. I looked up the fire escape, feeling another surge of tears wanting to fall. Things were fine when we had been here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I decided to go in. It’s not like I was going to be able to hide from Vaught forever. And this way, Black Noir would be the one to find me first. I crawled up the fire escape and peered through the window. It looked exactly like we had left it. I went to open the window but noticed that it was locked. It was never locked. Why would he lock it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another wave of anger flooded through my body again, anger over this situation I was in. Before I knew it, I had broken the window with my fist, sending glass spraying everywhere, including through my skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” I shouted, more at myself rather than the pain. I carefully opened up the window and crawled inside, holding my injured hand. I grabbed a dishtowel from the kitchen and wrapped it around my hand for the bleeding, not even bothering to take the glass out. I walked over to the living room and sat down on the couch, curling myself up on the side of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I closed my eyes, trying to prevent myself from crying any further. As I did, I felt exhaustion take over my body, and I had no strength to fight the pull towards sleep. Maybe when I woke up, it would be the start of my birthday again… </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a blanket on me when I woke up. For a brief moment, there was a second where I had yet to recall what had happened the night before. Then I felt pain in my hand again, where I had got glass stuck in it, and everything came rushing back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley…” a quiet voice spoke from behind me. I looked back to see my brother over in the kitchen, his mask and helmet off. “I-” he started. I shook my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” I interrupted. He tilted his head. “There was nothing either of us could have done,” I added. I could see Black Noir open his mouth to speak, but he quickly closed it again. I heard him sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that you are awake, I need to look at your hand. I did not want to wake you last night,” he said, motioning for me to meet him in the kitchen. I nodded and went to sit down at the table, silence falling over the two of us as he pulled out the oh so familiar first aid kit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tools in hand, Black Noir sat across from me at the table as I put my hand on top. He gently took off the cloth I had thrown on it the night before. The bleeding had stopped since then, but there were still a few shards of glass lodged into my knuckles where I had punched the glass. I quickly looked down to avoid having to see the sad look in Black Noir’s eyes. Nothing was said as he pulled out a pair of tweezers and got to work pulling out the various pieces until finally, I couldn’t take the silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you do with them?” I asked. Black Noir looked up at me, then quickly back down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You do not wish to know,” he said quietly. I could hear the sadness in his voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are they telling people happened?” This time Black Noir did not look up from my hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are going to be reported missing in a few days. House made to look like they left quickly. Likely to be skipping out on parole.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Am I in trouble?” I asked. “A-are we in trouble?” At this, Black Noir looked back up. He shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. With Vaught, no. But with Homelander…” he trailed off, going back to the tweezers and pulling out the largest piece of glass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” I cried, flinching my hand back. Black Noir held the piece up with his tweezers and raised his eyebrows. I sighed. “Sorry about the window…” He chuckled slightly at this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” It went quiet again as he pulled out some bandages and began wrapping them around my knuckles. Thankfully, none of the cuts were serious enough to need stitches. Once he was done, he closed the kit and looked at me, looking unsure of what to say next. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” I asked before he had the chance to say anything. Black Noir tilted his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” I pressed. “You’re not upset after what Vaught just made you do with the bodies?! Your own father?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I am Riley!” Black Noir exclaimed, his voice loud, angry. My eyes went wide. I don’t think I had ever heard Noir yell. He quickly noticed my reaction, and in his face, I could see he had not meant to yell. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” I shook my head. “I am. It’s just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do we do now?” I asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We go back to the tower.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing we can do,” Black Noir said sadly. I shook my head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“W-we can fight them! Maybe not actually physically, but like, we can take down Vaught!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I can’t.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I can!” I exclaimed. “I-I can find someone who would help us. There’s got to be other people out there who know the evil shit Vaught gets up to! I could find one of them and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley,” Black Noir interrupted. “That is too dangerous.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can do it! I-I’m smart, you’ve trained me well, I-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Riley.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can help us!” my voice was loud again. “Let me help us. Help you. You deserve to be free, Noir.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would never be free if something were to happen to you,” he said. “You getting hurt is worse than anything that they can make me do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Noir-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Promise me you won’t go looking for help,” he interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But-” I started to protest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Promise me,” Black Noir’s voice cracked as he spoke. I looked down at the ground. I nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Fine. I promise.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Black Noir said, offering me a small smile. I gave him a weak one back. “Now, we have to get going before Vaught sends the watchdogs after us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had meant to keep my promise to Black Noir. I really had. But, about a month after my birthday, I overheard a conversation that I definitely was not meant to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was just coming back from a day of shooting the Black Noir movie. It was nearly midnight. They wanted to get the movie out by the fall, so the timeline was moving very quickly. This last month has been exhausting. After it had happened, no one brought up the events of my birthday and everyone, Homelander included, went on as if nothing had happened. It infuriated me. And after that night, each time that Vaught sent out Black Noir, I couldn’t help but feel worse for him, especially after he had snapped that one morning, finally admitting that he was upset.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, when I was walking past Stillwell’s office that night and heard her talking to Stan Edgar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And the CIA?” I heard Edgar ask. I quickly stopped in my tracks, curious as to what they would be talking about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t had an incident in a few years,” Stillwell replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was not aware of an incident.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The former deputy director, Mallory, had attempted to turn Lamplighter into a spy for her. Luckily, he dealt with it, and she is no longer a problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He killed her?” Mr. Edgar asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not her. All you need to know that she is no longer trying to take us down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excellent. Let us keep it that way.” It was clear that this was the end of the conversation, and my hyper-senses told me that Mr. Edgar was on his way out. I frantically looked around me, nervous about getting caught overhearing that, and I quickly scrambled up the wall above the door. Somehow, that actually worked, and Stan Edgar walked out of Stillwell’s office and down the hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he had turned the corner, I slowly climbed down and took off towards my room, my mind running through different ideas.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>people out there who were trying to expose Vaught! People who could help Black Noir, people who could help both of us! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mallory, Mallory, Mallory,” I mumbled under my breath, trying to commit the name to memory. The former deputy director of the CIA. From the sounds of it, she was no longer there due to whatever Lamplighter did. But, still, she must’ve had people helping her, people who still were in the business. If I could find her-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley!” a voice exclaimed as I spun the corner. I glanced up, my eyes going wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Homelander,” I acknowledged the voice, trying to keep walking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen much of you lately!” Homelander went on, not seeming to notice, or care, that I was trying to leave. I faked a smile,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I’ve been pretty busy with the movie and all…” I trailed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, right, right, right,” Homelander said, strolling closer towards me. “How is that going?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G-good,” I hadn’t meant to stutter. “Yeah, really good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good to hear!” Homelander gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Well, you know that if you ever need anything, you can come to me.” I slowly nodded, now feeling slightly nervous. “I will always be here.” I felt myself gulp. “Always. Got that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“O-of course!” I stuttered again. Homelander grinned, lifting his hand from my shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good kid!” he exclaimed. And without another word, he strolled off, seeming satisfied with that conversation. I forced myself to take a deep breath to calm my nerves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I really needed to get us out of here. But in order to do that, first I had to find Mallory. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next day at school, I made a beeline for the computer lab. I needed to find out how to find this Mallory person, and I wasn't stupid enough to go googling for it on Vaught's wifi. I had been spending enough time with the tech people there that I knew how closely there were watching everyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, it appeared it was rather hard to locate a former member of the C.I.A, given the fact that it was, you know, the C.I.A. When I looked up the name along with the former deputy director, I found one result from years ago in a news article celebrating the first female director in the C.I.A. Nothing about who she was, even less on where to find her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Above me, the bell rang, signifying the start of class. I shut the computer off with a sigh. This was going to be much harder than I had anticipated. As I sat through my first class, I began to think of other ways to locate Mallory. The C.I.A had to have some sort of database about all their members, right? So that meant all I needed to do was hack into the C.I.A database… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, I had actually been learning how to hack thanks to the tech people at Vaught, so I could know what I was talking about for the movie, of course, and I actually didn't struggle too hard trying to access the servers I needed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next few weeks I spent doing just that. I could only do what I needed to do from the school computers, which was frustrating in itself, much less the small amount of time a day I had to scour for what I needed. Still, I persisted and somehow found myself in confidential files that told me Mallory's address. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, given that my schedule was so packed I had to remind Ashley to book me time for sleeping, there wasn't much opportunity for me to take a day off and go visit the address, which, just to make things more complicated, was half an hour out of the city. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, on a day where I knew we weren't filming after school, I did the only respectable thing a teenager would do and skipped school. When the lunch bell rang, I made the excuse to my friends that I was needed at Vaught, which, quite frankly, was a really easy lie to sell given how much school they had had me miss already, and hopped onto the subway that would take me to the edge of the city. I figured by leaving after lunch, I would still be able to say I was at school and having no filming meant I could get home a little late, claiming I had been doing homework at school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, I didn't want to leave a trace, anything that could tell anyone where I was going, which was a much harder thing to do these days, given how every person on the planet knew my name and who my brother was. I was lucky that no one recognized me on the subway, although with a ballcap on my head and much more casual clothing than where people would have seen me before, I suppose it wasn't so hard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was after the subway that was the hard part. Taking a cab was off the table, and I had yet to learn how to drive, much less get my license. So, I committed the route to memory, ensuring to leave my phone in my locker, and began to walk down the highway. At least, the side of the highway, though the road was quiet, I didn't want anyone seeing me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, the further away from the city I got, the taller the trees began to get. I looked down at my wrist, smiling to myself as I got an idea. After all, I hadn't had as much time to practice with that part of my powers recently, and when I did, I was confined to the tower's gym, not an open fucking forrest.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was fun, to say the least. I was having so much fun swinging around that I had nearly forgotten what I had been doing in the first place until I saw my destination. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I brought myself down to the ground and caught my breath, looking at the estate, a sudden twinge of nervousness rippling through my stomach. I hadn't really thought about what I was going to say to this woman. Just walk up and say hey "hey, Vaught is mind-controlling Black Noir, and I want to stop it"?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This was a bad idea," I mumbled to myself. I shook my hands out, trying to ease the pain in my wrists from using the webs and to try and build confidence in myself. This woman had wanted to take down Vaught a few years ago; why wouldn't she want to help me? "Okay, yeah," I told myself, finally mustering up the courage to walk to the front door. I knocked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door swung open. I wasn't sure what I was expecting the woman to look like, but I was still somehow confused by how tall she was. She looked down at me, looking confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice sounded slightly worried as she scanned the area behind me, almost as if she was looking for other people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh, yeah, actually," I laughed slightly, trying to sound casual. "A-are you, Grace Mallory?" She squinted, looking back down at me,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Who's asking?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-I am?" I scratched the back of my head, taking my hat off in the process. "I, uh, I need your help." I saw her tilt her head as she looked at me again. Her eyes went wide,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're the sibling," she said her realization out loud. I tried to smile, but she shook her head. "I don't know what you are doing here, but you need to go," her voice was harsh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wha-?" I started. "No, no, you don't-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Who sent you?" she asked, crossing her arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"N-no one," I stuttered. "I've been looking for you." Mallory raised her eyebrows. "I-I heard that you were trying to take down Vaught and I-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm not in that business anymore," she stated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But they, they- Homelander killed my parents," I said, hoping to try and convince her.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Homelander has killed a lot of parents. That changes nothing. You need to go," she said again, now turning to go back inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, wait!" I tried to say, but she had already started closing the door. "Black Noir is mind-controlled!" I blurted. This was enough for her to stop closing the door. I guess I really did need to phrase the conversation like that. The door slowly opened a little,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You've piqued my interest," she said, holding the door open for me. "Were you followed?" I shook my head,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"They think I'm at school. Phone's there too." Mallory nodded and shut the front door. She then looked back at me, crossing her arms again. I fiddled with the hat in my hands. "T-there's this panel, in the back of his skull," I motioned to the back of my head. "They've had him since he was a kid, whenever they need something done, the panel, it-it gets an order and takes over his consciousness," I felt my jaw trembling slightly; I'd never said any of this to anyone. "He, he's given up on trying to free himself, but I-" I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I took a deep breath, not wanting to cry in front of her. "I can't. Especially now that I'm trapped with him." I looked back up at Mallory, my eyes pleading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And what is it you think I can do?" Mallory asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I-" I started but cut myself off. I hadn't gotten that far yet. "I don't know," I admitted. "But I know you were looking for a spy. Someone inside Vaught." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And do you know how that ended?" she asked. I shook my head, no. She smiled briefly, then shook her head. "Look, Riley, I emphasize. But I don't even have a team anymore, Butcher, Frenchie, they- I have no connections." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What are you saying?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can't help you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I admire how far you've made it. It couldn't have been easy to find me. You're a smart kid," as she spoke, she walked back over to the front door, swinging it open. I stared at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"B-but-" I ran a hand through my hair. "W-what about your team you just mentioned? Frenchie and Butcher? You could tell me where to find one of them, and I could-" Mallory shook her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This business is no place for a child!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm almost eighteen!" I tried to defend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Exactly," she said, motioning to the door once again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But-" I started again. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked, my voice defeated. I could feel the tears threatening to fall again. Mallory noticed and sighed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Listen, you just need to keep your head above water. Same with your brothers. And then," she sighed again, "If I ever hear from my team again, which is a very small chance, I'll pass your name along." She offered me a smile. I nodded a few times,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright. Sure, I guess," I muttered, walking towards the door, head hung. Once outside, I turned around once more. "Thank you." Mallory nodded once, then shut the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Above me, thunder rocketed through the sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, fan-fucking-tastic."   </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay in updating! Finals week at university has been kicking my ass... </p><p>Anyway, if you are enjoying don't forget to leave kudos or a comment!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Black Noir Movie Premier. Holidays 2018. What I was told was the “biggest hype” a Vaught movie had had since the first Seven team-up movie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was sitting backstage before the red carpet, anxiously fiddling with the button on the sleeve of my tux. The last few months had been incredibly hectic. Turns out after filming the movie, I wasn’t done, and it seemed every waking hour was needed to promote the movie. Over summer break between school, Vaught had Black Noir and I touring around the country, which had actually been fun, especially since there was no need for Vaught to control Noir while we were gone, so it made for a nice vacation for the two of us. They even sent us to Disneyland! And sure, the day was filled with getting gawked at by literally everyone, but I had never been, and it had been a lot of fun. When they sent us to Vaughtworld, I had been hoping for a similar experience, but we were not permitted on any rides, and the day was spent signing autographs. Which I totally wasn’t sad about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The highlight of the summer was June. Pride month. Naturally, Vaught wanted to capitalize all over that, and I lost count of the number of parades they sent Noir and me to. I still enjoyed them all. Everyone at those were always so supportive, and even though the movie was still months away at that point, I had a lot of people come up to me and tell me how grateful they were for representation in a film. It was a good break from the constant angry superhero nerds who were angry that the Black Noir film was getting “political.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, once school had started again, my senior year of high school, there was a bit of a slow down. Instead of travelling, the promo turned into interviews, something I was getting quite good at doing now. Weirdly enough, I had a large fanbase, and no one had even seen the movie yet. It felt bizarre. My entire life, I had wanted to be seen by no one and here I was, being seen by everyone, and actually as my true self. It felt good. Not that I would actually ever fully admit that to myself or my brother, not when they gave him no control over anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, I fiddled with my buttons. I knew that once the movie hype was over, Vaught had an agenda for Black Noir. I had already overheard whispers of a bill that would put supes into the military. That had been something Black Noir and I had been trying to forget. Supes in the military already sounded like a terrible idea, but then adding in the fact that Black Noir would have no choice but to go, spend days at a time not in control of himself, killing whoever Vaught deemed-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riley,” a voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see my brother, slightly grinning when I saw he had got himself a matching bow tie to the one I had on, a rainbow bow tie, of course. He clasped his hands around mine, stopping me from fidgeting. “It will be okay.” I nodded, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, I’m just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There they are!” Stillwell’s voice interrupted our conversation. She walked into the room with Ashley, and behind them, Stan Edgar. “The stars of the show!” I forced a grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you two ready?” Ashley asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah,” I stuttered. “I think so.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m excited to see what you two have done,” Mr. Edgar said, stepping in front of the other two. “I hope it was worth it,” he added before turning around to leave. I looked to Black Noir, wondering what the hell that even meant. Naturally, he said nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, well, they will be ready for you two shortly!” Ashley went on. “I’m so excited!” she squealed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The movie wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad. I honestly had been expecting much worse. The audience at the premiere seemed to really enjoy it, and afterwards, I was already receiving a lot of compliments for my work. It was weird.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should I become a professional actor?” I asked Black Noir once we had gotten home. I saw him raise an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to be?” he asked. I shrugged,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s an option. Do you think I could do it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you can do whatever you put your mind to,” Black Noir said with a smile. I rolled my eyes,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Way to be cheesy about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s true!” Black Noir defended. I rolled my eyes again. “Have you-” Black Noir started but cut himself off. Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. He took a deep breath. “Have you thought about what you wanted to do after this year? When you graduate?” My eyes went wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…” I paused. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it…” I scratched the top of my head. “I guess that’s going to be here pretty soon, hey?” My brother nodded. He looked as if he was about to say something more when his phone started ringing. We both looked over to it on the table, each of us sighing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should put some thought into it,” Noir said, walking over to answer. “You don’t have to be trapped here with me.” I realize these words were meant to be encouraging, but all I could do was frown as I watched his shoulders tense as he picked up the phone. My heart felt heavy as he walked out of the apartment without another word. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door shut, and I sighed again. Honestly, I had thought about applying to different schools, none of them in the same city. Legally, I would be an adult by then, and my only real contract that I had with Vaught was up after the movie came out. I could pack up my things and start a new life for myself. But I couldn’t. Not when Black Noir would have to stay here, not in control, doing God knows what all by himself. I couldn’t do that to him. Especially since he had been the one to save me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked down at my phone, looking at the time. It was nearly three in the morning, the after party of the premiere taking much longer than I could have ever imagined. Everyone who worked in the tower would be long gone, and the other members of The Seven were bound to either be asleep or too drunk or high to notice anything. So, I slipped out of the apartment as well, making my way towards the tech department. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ever since I had that interaction with Mallory, the old C.I.A lady, I had been doing my best to start collecting more data on what was going on within Vaught. I figured that if I had more information, she would have no choice but to take it. I didn’t have time to wait around for that team of hers to get back together like some sort of boy band, not when the talk of that military bill sounded more and more concrete every day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so I slunk down to the computers, turning one on and plugging in my flash drive. I spent the next hour digging around different files, hacking into the accounts I wasn’t supposed to have access to and downloading everything that looked important. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I had already dropped a few flash drives off at her house, each time hoping that she would finally offer to help or give me more information on her old team, but each time the door had been shut in my face. Although she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>always take the flash drive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Usually, the files I found made little to no sense to me; they were always full of business jargon and other fancy words I had no idea what they meant. However, tonight I was able to find some files of interest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Seven Auditions, 2019,” I read out loud to myself. I squinted as I clicked onto the file. Last I checked, there were already seven people in The Seven… “Unless,” I muttered, clicking back a few files. I had seen one about someone retiring, but I had just assumed it meant one of the board members, not- “Lamplighter,” I muttered. Curious, I started digging around in his personal files, my eyes going wide as I read that the therapist they assigned to him deemed him “unfit for duty.” Something about him being depressed. “Interesting,” I said, clicking download on some of those files to the flash drive. Maybe Mallory would be interested in the forced retirement of one of these guys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As I turned off the computer and walked back to my room, I thought about who the new member of The Seven would be. If the rest of the supes that were out there were anything like the ones already here, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I tried to shake the thought that it wouldn’t be until the new year. I had much more pressing matters to deal with till then. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Christmas was in two weeks, and I had yet to get anything for Black Noir. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A short chapter in time for the holidays!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Unfortunately, unlike last year, this time I had to be on the Vaught Christmas Eve spectaculathon. After all, it was a good way to promote the movie, which was a box office hit. That was how I ended up wearing one of those ugly Christmas sweaters, this one featuring a Black Noir pattern, sitting on a stage being forced to sing Christmas carols with other members of The Seven. At least they provided Christmas cookies. </p><p>On the bright side, since I wasn’t a secret to Vaught like I was this time of year last year, once we were done with the live show Black Noir and I were able to spend the rest of Christmas Eve together. </p><p>We had just gotten back home. Black Noir already started making some hot cocoa while I changed out of the itchy sweater when there was a knock on the door. Black Noir and I looked at each other nervously. I went to answer the door while Noir slid his helmet back over his head. </p><p>“D-Deep!” I exclaimed as I opened the door. He still had a Santa hat on his head and in his hands was a wrapped box. </p><p>“Riley! Hey!” The Deep flashed me a smile. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Merry Christmas!” I tried to match his smile.</p><p>“Yeah, Merry Christmas! W-what’s up?” </p><p>“Well, the others all went out to a Christmas party, and it seems they left without me and didn’t tell me where the party was, and then I remembered that I had got you a present so I figured I could see what you and Noir were up to!” The Deep rambled. </p><p>“Oh,” I said quietly, feeling slightly bad for the guy. I looked back at my brother. “W-well, we were just making some hot chocolate…” </p><p>“I love hot chocolate!” he exclaimed, letting himself into the apartment. Black Noir glared at me. I held my hands up,</p><p>“What was I supposed to do?” I mouthed. I saw Noir sigh as he went to grab another mug. The Deep had promptly sat himself down on the couch, looking at the fireplace. I awkwardly went to sit beside him. “You didn’t have to get us anything…” I started, not quite sure what to say. He smiled again. </p><p>“Oh, it’s no biggie! I really think you’re going to love him!” </p><p>“Him?” I questioned. </p><p>“Open it!” </p><p>“Uh,” I looked at Black Noir again, who was bringing over the drinks. “Alright…” I looked at the wrapped box that was sitting on the coffee table. I looked back at Deep, who nodded very encouragingly. I carefully tore at the wrapping paper, which was themed with The Deep movie logo, that revealed a cardboard box. I felt myself gulp as I lifted the lid off of it, recalling what had happened the last time a member of The Seven had gotten me a present. </p><p>I glanced back over at The Deep, who had an even bigger grin on his face now. I shook my head, opening up the box. Inside was a glass bowl. A fishbowl specifically. And in it…</p><p>“A.. fish?” I asked, looking at the small orange creature swimming inside. </p><p>“That’s Tim!” Deep exclaimed. “He’s a Southern Platyfish!” </p><p>“Wow…” I said, forcing another smile. “C-cool.” </p><p>“Yeah! He’s a pretty cool guy. Big fan of AC/DC.”</p><p>“T-the fish?” </p><p>“Yes! Tim told me himself.” </p><p>“Right,” I said, drawing out the word. “Well, thank you, I guess. We’ll, uh, take good care of him.” The Deep flashed me another smile, and suddenly I felt bad for not getting him anything. I mean, the dude is a narcissistic prick, but I couldn’t help but be sad that all the other members of The Seven abandoned him on Christmas. I looked over at Black Noir, unable to read his facial expression behind the mask. Although he didn’t seem upset about the situation. “Would you, uh, like a Christmas cookie?” I asked, finding the silence awkward. </p><p>“Sure!” he exclaimed. I forced another smile and stood back up off of the couch to grab the plate of peanut butter cookies I had made. Real peanut butter this year since I knew that Noir was only allergic to tree nuts. On my way back, I noticed the small wrapped box on the counter with my name on it. I was eager to find out what Noir had got me this year, so I grabbed the present I had for him and brought it back to the living room with the plate of cookies. The Deep promptly shoved two in his mouth.  </p><p>“This is for you,” I said to Noir, handing over the wrapped box. I could see him smile under the mask. “Go on, open it!” I clapped my hands together as he began to gently tear on the paper. The box opened up to reveal a mug with the words ‘best big brother’ written on the side. Black Noir happily held it up and offered me a thumbs up. </p><p>“That’s the-the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” The Deep suddenly said. We both looked over at him.</p><p>“A-are you crying?” </p><p>“I-it’s just that he’s your, and you, and, and, it’s just so beautiful!” The Deep sobbed. I raised my eyebrows and looked back at Noir. He put his hands out in front of him, also unsure about what to do in this situation. </p><p>“H-have you been drinking?” I asked Deep. He nodded, still sobbing. “Right… Well, why don’t we get you back to your room?” </p><p>“O-okay.” Deep sniffled. Noir nodded in agreement, and the two of us helped The Deep stand up off the couch. One of us could have easily carried him down the hall, but instead, we each put one of his arms around his shoulders and slowly stumbled back to his room. Once there, we flopped him down on the bed, he fell asleep nearly instantly. Noir made sure to flip him on his side, shall he vomit sometime during the night. The Deep let out a loud snore. I raised my eyebrows and looked at my brother. </p><p>“Merry Christmas?” I asked. Noir shook his head with a small laugh.</p><p>“C’mon, you still have to open your gift.”</p><p>The rest of the night went by smoothly. No more drunk supes showed up at our doors, and the two of us ended up falling asleep on the couch with old Christmas movies playing on the T.V. All things considered, it was still a pretty incredible Christmas. </p>
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